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Title: Suppers
Novel Suggestions for Social Occasions
Author: Paul Pierce
Release Date: September 26, 2010 [EBook #33975]
Language: English
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Suppers
NOVEL SUGGESTIONS FOR SOCIAL
OCCASIONS
Compiled by
PAUL PIERCE
Editor and Publisher of _What to Eat_, the National Food Magazine,
Superintendent of Food Exhibits at the St. Louis Worlds's Fair,
Honorary Commissioner of Foods at the Jamestown Exposition.
CHICAGO
BREWER, BARSE & CO.
Copyright 1907
by
PAUL PIERCE
TO THE ARISTOCRACY OF AMERICA.
To that much abused, but very eminent class, the society women of
America, this book is dedicated. It is with a realization that they
constitute the better half of the best aristocracy in the
world--probably the only real aristocracy of the present day. It is an
aristocracy of real merit, entree to which is attained by achievement,
not by mere inheritance. No titles are inherited there; they are bought
with effort and accomplishments. It is an aristocracy of the fittest,
not of chance birth. Out of the competition is growing a higher and
higher standard for each succeeding generation, and hence it is an
aristocracy of ascent and not of descent.
Suppers are the favorite social function of the American aristocrats.
Hence it is with the highest esteem of their station, and the honor they
reflect on the nation that this humble volume is recommended to their
especial protection and favor.
PUBLISHER'S ANNOUNCEMENT.
So scant is the information regarding suppers that it has been almost
impossible for the host or hostess to obtain authentic knowledge
regarding these functions excepting through actual experience as a
guest, and even then the prevailing ignorance has led to many erroneous
conceptions causing deplorable awkwardness. The publication of this
volume was decided upon only after a search of libraries and bookshops
everywhere revealed such a woeful dearth of information on suppers and
the fact that such information as was obtainable was often misleading
and in many cases positively ridiculous. There is no social function
that lends itself so admirably for a high class entertainment as the
supper.
This volume, therefore, will fill a vacuum in the needs of society; it
will supply a long felt want of both men and women, who often, so often,
have worried over the proper forms and menus for suppers. The book is
complied by Paul Pierce, publisher of _What To Eat_, The National Food
Magazine, an international authority on all subjects pertaining to
dinings and other social functions. Mr. Pierce is the Compiler of
"Dinners and Luncheons," "Parties and Entertainments," "Breakfasts and
Teas," and "Weddings and Wedding Celebrations," to which "Suppers" is a
companion. All the other volumes will be found most helpful to the man
or woman who entertains on a large or small scale.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. _Chafing Dish Suppers_--Chafing Dish Cooking and
Serving--Chafing Dish Chat--A Chafing Dish Supper--A Chafing Dish
Party--Over the Chafing Dish.
CHAPTER II. _German, Dutch and Bohemian Suppers_--Some Queer German
Suppers--A Dutch Supper--Bohemian Supper for Men--The Dutch Supper.
CHAPTER III. _Entertaining in the Modern Apartment_--A Little Sunday
Night Supper--Stag Suppers--A Bachelor Supper.
CHAPTER IV. _Suppers for Special Occasions_--Danish Valentine Supper--A
Hallowe'en Ghost Hunt--A Hallowe'en Supper--Hallowe'en Supper Menus--A
Pie Party for Thanksgiving Season--The Pie Shelf--Birthday
Suppers--Birthday Party.
CHAPTER V. _Miscellaneous Suppers_--Camping Parties and
Clambakes--Nutting Party--Harvest Home Supper--Autumn Suppers--Dickens'
Supper--Boston Supper Party--Yachting Party--Butterfly Supper--Young
Married Couples' Supper--Head Dress Supper Party--Quilting
Supper--Wedding Supper--Waffle Supper--The Bohemian Picnic
Supper--Railroad Party--Literary Supper--Peanut Party--Folk Lore
Supper--Cake Walk Supper--Bridge Whist Supper--After Theatre Menus--A
Cold Supper Menu for Hot Weather.
CHAPTER VI. _Toasts_--Stories for Suppers.
CHAPTER I.
CHAFING DISH SUPPERS--CHAFING DISH COOKING AND SERVING--CHAFING DISH
CHAT--A CHAFING DISH SUPPER--A CHAFING DISH PARTY--OVER THE CHAFING
DISH.
In serving the most simple of chafing-dish suppers, it would seem as
though the novice had a million things to remember and a thousand duties
to follow in quick succession. She is the cynosure of all eyes. With
what grace and tact she may discharge her pretty duties, or with what
awkwardness and evident distaste, none but a "chafing" audience can
really appreciate. Charming and at home on every other occasion, the
most finished society woman frequently feels completely lost in this
unwonted dipping into domestic service.
Perhaps one of the most embarrassing moments is when, the company
assembled, unconsciously expectant and usually most flatteringly
interested, the hostess prepares to fill and light the little lamp whose
flickering flame begins the ceremony. If the hostess is wise and
conversation seems to flag at this interesting moment, she will promptly
start the ball rolling and relieve the tension by some extemporaneous
remark, some light jest that will at least temporarily distract the
attention of the merry assemblage. But this over, there is still the
inconvenient delay before the water heats, the butter splutters and the
real preparing of the supper is begun, and remembering this and the
embarassing interval, even at the most informal supper the chafing-dish
course should be preceded by a little appetizer, or, to speak more
correctly, diverter, which will form a pleasant interlude, occupy in
part the attention of the guests and tend to promote the success of her
favorite dish by allowing her to proceed in its preparation undisturbed
by haste or excitement.
For this purpose something most appropriate to the supper must be
served, in order that, as according to the customs in ancient Rome, the
_piece de resistance_ may be emphasized and the appetite whetted, not
cloyed by the introductory viands.
Before the favorite Welsh rarebit, so rarely thought of in any
combination but with ale and indigestion, anchovy sandwiches garnished
with water cress will be found delicious, or sardines, chilled in lemon
juice, and offered with inch wide sandwiches of buttered Boston brown
bread may be served. Iced shaddock pulp, flavored with Maraschino, is an
excellent introduction to creamed chicken. Egg lemonade, clam cocktail,
raw oysters with stuffed mangoes, or some such light course can all be
easily prepared beforehand, and should be served most daintily,
individually, in order that no rapacious collegiate may inadvertently
regale himself with a second helping, and thereby too early spring the
epicurean trap so adroitly set for later refections.
The lamp lighted and this first course passed, the hostess may at least
be sure of a short interval in which to make her preparations. Have
everything ready beforehand--the rest is easy. Why there should be so
much excitement over the cooking of an ordinary rarebit, a creamed
chicken, a souffle of oysters or all this terrible excitement about a
lobster Newberg or a simple cheese fondue is beyond comprehension.
The first ambition of the young hostess seems to be a rarebit, possibly
because its frequent introduction at stag suppers makes it a great
favorite with her men friends. Rarebits are avowedly hard to make, and
the recipes are legion, but whatever formula you use, whether you use
cream, ale, beer, curry or Tobasco, never fail to add two half-beaten
eggs for each pound of cheese, and serve the minute it reaches a creamy
consistency. This principle followed, your rarebit woes will vanish, and
the fame of your chafing dish will be heralded abroad.
Unless you are really an experienced cook, it is unwise to attempt too
complicated a dish, but a little practice will soon put you quite at
ease, and a little thought will enable you to serve your Sunday-night
supper or a midnight lunch quite as easily this way as any other.
We are most of us familiar enough with simple cooking to prepare any
ordinary dish, and without entering into a list of formulæ, the
following suggestions will be found all sufficient:
Ham, oyster, bacon, cheese, potato, jelly, celery or preserved fruit
omelets; scrambled eggs; curried oysters or chicken; minced ham or
minced tongue souffle; fried shad roe, calves brains, chops, sausages or
sardines; creamed chicken with mushrooms, creamed sweetbreads, liver,
bacon, lobster, oysters, cold boiled fish of all kinds; fried oyster,
clam, corn, pineapple, peach, orange or banana fritters (fried in
butter); cheese fondue, Welsh rarebit, sardines in cheese sauce, or any
other simple little dish your fancy may dictate. With such an array as
this to choose from, and a hundred other equally simple dishes in
reserve, is it possible for any one to despair over the impossibilities
of the chafing dish and its limited qualifications for a quick, hot
supper?
CHAFING DISH CHAT.
While recipes for chafing dish cookery abound, the little hints which
make all the difference between success and failure in the concoction of
any given dish are usually omitted.
The chafing dish novice is usually obliged to learn them by that hardest
of all teachers, experience.
To ameliorate this difficulty, the following suggestions are given:
Have plenty of alcohol on hand to avoid the possibility of the lamp's
going out just before some dish is completed, otherwise, if you are a
man, you may be tempted to use language almost warm enough to cook the
ingredients.
If your chafing dish lamp has not been used for some time, pour only a
little alcohol into it at first, let it stand, and then fill it up.
If obliged to refill the lamp in the process of cooking, do not do it
while the lamp is very hot, as the igniting point of alcohol is low.
Do not fill up your lamp until ready to use it, as alcohol evaporates
very rapidly.
Have a metallic tray underneath the chafing dish.
Do not blow the flame to extinguish it, or it may fly back at you and
scorch your eyebrows and lashes. Put it out with a little extinguisher
that comes with the lamp.
Almost everything can be cooked without the hot water pan, and thus
one-half the time can be saved in making your dish.
Raise the pan from the flame if it becomes too strong.
Never leave the alcohol bottle uncorked, on account of the odor of the
alcohol and also to avoid the possibility of its catching fire.
Should the contents of the bottle ignite, clap your hand over its mouth.
This will extinguish the fire at once.
Use wooden spoons for stirring, as they do not scratch the dish.
Almost anything that can be cooked in a sauce pan on the stove can be
cooked in the chafing dish.
Have everything you need for your dish on the table before you begin to
cook, and if possible have every ingredient, except the seasonings,
measured.
One level tablespoonful of butter when melted is usually enough to cover
the bottom of the chafing dish.
Do not use too much sherry in making Lobster Newberg, for alcohol, when
used in cooking, tends to make fish or flesh tough.
Remember in measuring out the sherry that you are preparing a dish, not
concocting a drink.
The sherry should not be instantly recognized; there should be just a
hint of its flavor.
When your dish is completed, serve it from the chafing dish. If,
however, you prefer turning it out on a platter, garnish the edges of
the same with watercress or parsley.
Last, but not least, save the best and brightest story you have heard
during the week, to relate at the chafing dish supper.
A CHAFING DISH SUPPER.
A chafing dish supper menu must necessarily be confined to those dishes
which are the hosts' or hostess' specialty--Welsh rarebit, panned or
creamed oysters, shellfish, eggs or meats. The very informality of a
chafing dish supper is its charm, the guests sitting at the table while
the dishes are prepared. Decide upon the chief dish and have everything
possible prepared in the kitchen and ready to use at the table, the
cheese or meat cut into dice, the bread or crackers toasted, the
ingredients measured and in glasses or cups and all utensils ready to
use. Decorate the table with centerpiece and plate mats or large white
cloth with bowl of flowers or fruits in the center. Do not have many
candles or decorations on the table as these will interfere with the
preparation of dishes. Have the chafing dish or dishes at one end of the
table and some hostesses have a higher chair in which to sit while they
preside over the chafing dish. Have the salad, trays or platters with
sandwiches and coffee machine if you make coffee at the table, placed
conveniently by those who prepare these articles of food. Suppose you
are to serve panned oysters, on squares of toast, lettuce salad, bread
and butter sandwiches and coffee, or Welsh rarebit, potato salad and
coffee and sandwiches. Any of these is a good menu as you will not want
sweets or ice cream at such a supper.
For safety place your chafing dishes on metal trays and do not fill the
lamp too full. Many hostesses prefer to have their ingredients on the
table in bowls which will not break and on Japanese trays and use wooden
spoons for stirring as they do not become hot, and do not scratch the
dishes. As food is served directly from the chafing dish to the plates
and the object is to have everything very hot, garnishings are not
necessary. The water pan placed under the cooking pan will keep things
hot after the flame is extinguished. Two chafing dishes come in very
handy in keeping the toast and hot water hot while the main dish is
being prepared.
Have a pile of hot plates at hand and have someone place the toast on
the plate and hand it to the hostess who serves from the chafing dish.
While she is doing this, have someone at the other end of the table mix
a plain French dressing and toss the lettuce leaves in it in a large
bowl and serve the lettuce salad, or serve the potato salad which should
be already prepared on small fancy plates. If coffee is made at the
table assign this task to one guest and appoint two or three waiters to
see that the sandwiches, coffee, salad and the chafing dish product are
handed about. Dill pickles are popular for chafing dish suppers, and so
are wienerwursts, rye bread and Swiss cheese. The main idea of such a
supper is to keep everyone busy helping and seeing that the supper does
not lag.
A CHAFING DISH PARTY.
Hey diddle diddle, the cat's in the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see the sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Start in with a spelling match and spell each other down in good
old-fashioned style. As soon as any one misses two words he or she is
dropped out. Finally when only one is left, award a prize, a little
water color, painted by the hostess, and framed passe-partout, to the
"unabridged dictionary" as the winner might be called. The one who fails
and retires first from the field receives a toy chafing dish. In the
dining room the polished table is daintily set with doilies under the
olive and almond dishes, and under the plates and glasses. The supper is
a very simple one. Make creamed oysters in the chafing dish and serve
them in home-made pate shells. Then have celery sandwiches made of thin
slices of bread rolled around tender splintered stalks of celery, and
dainty lettuce sandwiches with the lettuce crisp and cold and the
mayonnaise of good stiffness and small cups of coffee.
To divert the attention while the hostess is cooking the oysters put at
each plate a large oyster shell with a verse painted upon it in the form
of a recipe which brings out little characteristics of each one of the
guests. One man who is very clever and a dabbler in verse may receive
the following:
"For this wonder culinary
Take a pound of dictionary,
Philosophy, perhaps a cup--
Beat three epics, mix them up,
With a measure of blank verse
Season with oratory terse,
Sprinkle in a bunch of rue
---- looms into view."
A girl who has a record of alleged broken hearts to her account, is
exploited in this style:
"Take an ounce of fickleness,
Remorse, perhaps a grain or less;
Stir this into ready wit,
A Siren's smile to leaven it;
A laugh of wondrous catchiness
This is little ----"
OVER THE CHAFING DISH.
Recipes for cooking with this dish of dishes are more than plentiful,
yet new ones are always sought; and these will all be found most
excellent.
SWEETBREADS WITH PEAS.
Can of peas; three small sweetbreads; one teaspoonful butter; one-half
pint of stock broth; celery leaf; salt; white pepper; one-half
teaspoonful brown flour. Stand the sweetbreads in cold water for an
hour. Then parboil and remove rough edges, membranes, sinews, etc. Put
in cold water and keep on ice until wanted. Put into the chafing dish
the butter and the sweetbreads. When the butter has been absorbed, add
one-half pint of stock and the celery leaf, chopped fine, the salt,
pepper and browned flour. Turn the sweetbreads. When the same is reduced
one half it is ready. While the sweetbreads are cooking open a can of
green peas. Warm thoroughly in the chafing dish. Put in salt, pepper and
tablespoonful of butter. Serve peas and sweetbreads together.
LOBSTER A LA NEWBERG.
Meat of a boiled lobster, cut into large dice; good-sized lump butter;
one gill of sherry; one pint of cream; yolks of two eggs; glass of
sauterne.
Put the lobster into the chafing dish with a good-sized lump of butter
and stir gently until the butter is melted and the lobster heated
through. Mix the sherry with the cream and yolk of eggs, first blending
the latter with enough cream to make them thick as mayonnaise. Pour the
mixture into the dish over the lobster. Let it simmer a moment, then
pour the sauterne over the whole and serve hot.
WELSH RAREBIT.
One pound chopped American cheese; one-half glass ale; yolk of an egg;
one teaspoonful dry mustard; one teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce and
butter; a dash of red and one or two of black pepper; a few drops of
Tabasco. If cheese is fresh add salt. Into the chafing dish put a few
small lumps of butter. After it has simmered a bit put in the cheese.
Stir constantly and gradually add the ale. When the cheese and ale are
well blended stir in the condiments prepared as follows: To the yolk of
the egg broken into a cup, add the dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce,
red and black pepper and Tabasco. Let it have one more heating and pour
over toast or toasted biscuit.
CHAPTER II.
GERMAN, DUTCH AND BOHEMIAN SUPPERS--SOME QUEER GERMAN SUPPERS--A DUTCH
SUPPER--BOHEMIAN SUPPER FOR MEN--THE DUTCH SUPPER.
SOME QUEER GERMAN SUPPERS.
At the following suppers German wines or beers are served during the
meal when desired:
_Beer Bouillon_
_Fricandeau of Veal, with Macaroni_
_Cauliflower_
_Cold Pullet, with Apricot Compote_
_Chocolate Souffle_
_Coffee_
_Herring Broth_
_Pork Cutlets_
_Cold Turnips_
_Sour Roast Meat Sliced, with Pear Compote_
_Orange Jelly_
_Small Cups of Coffee_
_Sardines_
_Turbots_
_Carrots, Creamed_
_Slices of Venison, with Cranberry Compote_
_Omelette_
_Black Coffee_
_Plum Bouillon_
_Salmon with Butter_
_Fillet of Beef with Mushrooms_
_Creamed Asparagus_
_Duck with Currant Compote_
_Ices_
_Black Coffee_
_Crab Broth_
_Cold Slices of Beef, with Plum Sauce_
_Sour Potatoes_
_Belgian Hare, Sour Cream Sauce_
_Crackers and Cheese_
_Small Cups of Coffee_
In Germany the rich and poor alike have the same taste for strange and
extraordinary dishes, though these are prepared in a more costly manner
in the houses of the wealthy. The German "geschmack," to borrow their
own word, seems different from that of other nations. A waiter who had
the selection of a menu for the principal officers' mess in Berlin, when
questioned stated that all the sweets were regularly struck out by the
officer who revised the bill of fare with the remark, "Give us only
sour." That the Germans, however, lay great stress on the culinary art
is best proved by the fact that in the German domestic exhibition,
recently held in Berlin, the recipes were sold at the rate of 12-1/2
cents apiece and freely bought at that price.
The Germans have a greater variety of soups, including chowders, broths
and bouillons, than any other nation of Europe. Most peculiar are their
beer soups. One of the most popular of these is beer and raisin soup,
which, in the form of chowders, broths, bouillons and soups, is served
for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers. It is made as follows:
Boil a sufficient quantity of raisins in water with a slice of bread in
it until the raisins are soft. Then pour in beer till the mixture tastes
quite strong. Sweeten with sugar and when it boils add from a half to a
whole teaspoonful of flour thickening. Stir the liquid and add whisked
eggs or cream.
It might seem the height of human imagination to combine beer and
raisins in a soup or bouillon, but the Germans proceed a step further
and make a favorite soup, broth or bouillon out of beer and milk, which
are mixed together in the proportion of two pints of milk to one pint of
beer and prepared with the addition of currants, flour and salt. Fruit
soups, broths and bouillons of all kinds play an important part at
German luncheons, dinners and suppers, and really some of them are
delicious. Perhaps the best is a strawberry decoction which is made as
follows:
Boil some biscuit powder in water. Add wine, sugar and cinnamon
according to taste. In case the mixture is not thick enough stir in a
little corn flour. When this has boiled take it off the fire and put in
some cupfuls of ripe strawberries which must have lain an hour with
sugar over them. Serve as soup, broth or bouillon.
Fish soups are also very usual, the chief fish employed for the purpose
being the carp and the pike. Indeed the Germans seem able to make soup
out of anything and, not only to make it, but enjoy it.
Vegetables at German dinners, luncheons or suppers are always served in
a special course by themselves, being served cold at suppers. They are
dressed with oil, butter, or drippings, never boiled in water as we cook
them. These fats are placed in a saucepan and allowed to boil before the
vegetables are put in. Suet may be used instead of the above. Of course,
this method of dressing does not always apply to potatoes--which are
boiled in the American manner, though served in a countless variety of
ways. They are served with melted butter and parsley sauce as a dish by
themselves. They are served with sour milk sauce. Other preparations of
potatoes are too numerous to mention, but we may briefly enumerate sour
potatoes with bay leaves (the latter being boiled with them), potato
fritters, potatoes and apples, potatoes and pears, potatoes and damsons,
potatoes and vermicelli, etc. Some of these mixtures we attest, from
personal experience after tasting them, are not so unsavory as at first
sight might appear. The potato is a vegetable of undecided flavor and
lends itself to combinations with sweet fruits in an extraordinary
manner. Indeed by the addition of sugar in some of the German dishes it
would pass for a fruit itself.
Sour roast meat is a favorite with Germans. The extraordinary taste
which finds pleasure in eating this sour meat is little less remarkable
than the strange way in which the viand is prepared. Whey is first taken
and curdled with vinegar, and the meat is laid in this, the whey and
vinegar being changed every two days. This preliminary pickling goes on
for more than a week until the meat is thoroughly sour and sodden. If
not sour to the last degree the cook has orders to baste it with vinegar
while roasting, so as to secure the extreme point of acidity. Before it
is put to the fire the cooks often slash it, and rub it with cayenne
pepper, onions, turnips and the crust of black bread so as to give it
some recondite flavor, with the merit of which we are unacquainted. When
finally cooked, it is eaten by Germans with as much relish as a fine
sirloin is by Americans. This meat is very popular when served cold at
suppers.
At German suppers along with the meat is eaten the "compote." This is a
species of preserved or stewed fruit, which is served on little glass
plates, and lies at the side of the supper plate. It is not an uncommon
sight to see a German at supper or dinner putting methodically a piece
of meat in his mouth and next instant a spoonful of cranberries or
stewed apricots, and repeating the process indefinitely as long as the
meal lasts. The little glass plate on which the "compote" lies is lifted
to the mouth along with the spoon, replaced on the table, and then the
German attacks his meat for another mouthful only.
A DUTCH SUPPER.
Some cold night try an American version of a Dutch supper. Have the
place cards in the form of Hans Brinker with the silver skates, or
sketches of Henriette Ronner's famous cats. A windmill for a
centerpiece and copies of the wooden shoes for bonbons and nuts.
Use Delft china and of course the coffee must be from Mandheling or
Padang--the best Java. From a German bake shop get the bread, either
"Kummel," (which is rye with caraway seeds), or Pumpernickel. Be sure
and have herring and anchovies in some form--anchovy toast is nice. The
simplest way to prepare this is to toast white bread cut in strips, then
spread each with butter and essence of anchovy. Fry some fine oysters.
Prepare plenty of cabbage salad or cold slaw, with boiled dressing. From
a delicatessen store procure dill pickles and a nice Edam cheese.
After these, serve rich compotes of fruit--cherry and plum, with anise
seed cookies and little nutmeg and cinnamon cakes, so that if,
perchance, dreams follow, they will be of the tropic seas and the
fragrant breezes of the Dutch spice islands.
BOHEMIAN SUPPER FOR MEN.
Here are two ideas for a Bohemian supper. Knowing that men prefer
substantial dishes with generous helpings to a great number of fancy
"messes" as they term it, we would therefore suggest a Beefsteak supper.
First serve raw oysters. After the oysters have the steaks brought in on
separate platters, placing platters before the second, fifth, eighth,
eleventh, etc, guests. These men cut the steak for the men on their left
and right. With the steaks serve French fried potatoes and the Vienna
bread or rolls, the very hard crusty kind. For the second course serve
cheese, a rarebit on hard crackers, or any strong cheese. Serve ale or
beer with this supper and no sweets. In buying the steaks the chef will
have to pay more attention to the quality of the meat, than size and
appearance. The steaks should be broiled over coals and served piping
hot in their own gravy. The second menu includes one hot dish, a rabbit
fricasse or stew. Any chef (especially German) can prepare what is
called "Hassenpfeffer stew." This is rabbit soaked in vinegar and cooked
with certain herbs and is liked by Bohemians. With this serve potato
salad and cold dishes, Swiss cheese on rye bread, Westphalian ham,
Frankfurters, Bologna, cottage cheese with chopped chives, dill pickles,
Spanish onions sliced in vinegar, French mustard, radishes, spring
onions, pickled beets and pickled eggs, pickled herring. Serve black
coffee, beer or ale with this supper. Have the sandwiches in baskets and
the condiments in the four-part dishes, everything on the table and no
waiters save for the liquors. Sardines on toast will make a good first
course or appetizer for this dinner. If one has a few pieces (violin,
cello, bass viol, flute) to play Hungarian airs during the dinner it
will please the guests. The table should be bare of cloths of any sort.
Arrange as a center decoration a miniature prize fight. Have a small
platform roped off with silk cords, toy figures of pugilists labeled,
and all the accessories. For each guest a toy figure of a hunter,
football player, golfer, prize fighter or any desired athlete could be
used. On the back of the figure hang something which will refer to some
particular fad or joke on the member. For instance, if one has met with
an accident in hunting put a bit of porous plaster on the back of the
figure. If one has won a trophy, hang a tiny loving cup or stein, etc.
In place of the toasts try this: Arrange with a man at the telephone
exchange to ring up the telephone in the house every ten or fifteen
minutes during the dinner. Ask one man to answer the 'phone and carry on
a fake conversation taking off different members of the dinner,
incorporating the question in his answer. This will keep the crowd
roaring. A man with a megaphone describing a race or fight will keep the
crowd in a good humor.
THE DUTCH SUPPER.
The plebian Dutch supper is the very latest mode of dispensing
hospitality, and has, as yet, the charm of novelty.
The hours range from six in the evening until midnight, and during the
heated term is very popular as the windup of a trolley or automobile
ride.
Now, it would not do to seat an American crowd to a genuine Dutch
supper, in all its glory of limburger and sour-kraut, but relieve it of
the disagreeables, and a menu, not fancy, but simple and eatable,
remains.
The table must be covered with the whitest of linen, while the
decorations should be blue and red, thus to combine effectively
Holland's national colors, which, by the way, are not the same as our
own.
The center is occupied by a great dish of stuffed eggs, garnished with
parsley, the green sprays trailing on the cloth; as a companion to this,
there is a large platter of thinly sliced ham, cold, but the "weinies"
must be steaming hot. Then there is a salmon salad encircled by water
cress or nasturtium leaves, and at intervals, dainty mounds of potato
salad. Tomatoes with French dressing (with onions would be more in
keeping), small saucers of cheese, sweet and sour pickles, olives, slaw
(instead of sour-kraut), bread, in layers of white and brown, and last,
but by no means least, smear-kase, served individually.
Pretzels and fruits, which may include any and all kinds, form the
dessert, and can be most artistically arranged by a tasteful person with
deft fingers.
Beer, in mugs, is, of course, the correct beverage, but the lighter
wines are also permissable.
One charming feature of the supper is that it is served cold and all
together, which leaves the hostess free to enjoy her guests without fear
that something will go wrong in the culinary department.
Now, like everything else, the Dutch supper can be made elaborate, and
the bill of fare extended and put in courses, but a friendly gathering
about a homely meal, where one naturally feels at ease, will appeal to
most as preferable.
CHAPTER III.
ENTERTAINING IN THE MODERN APARTMENT--A LITTLE SUNDAY NIGHT SUPPER--STAG
SUPPERS--A BACHELOR SUPPER.
There are some people to whose distorted vision the tiniest molehills
are magnified into veritable chains of mountains, rugged and
insurmountable; and if, in addition to their other woes, they happen to
be unfortunate enough to dwell in a flat, their desolation is complete.
To these women what is said on the subject of entertaining in a modern
apartment will possess not one atom of interest. Before their horrified
eyes will gleam a thousand unsolvable difficulties, and an attempt to
successfully evade them might engulf them still further, so this appeal
for the much maligned "tenement" of the day is to some bright little
woman whose very touch transforms and whose ready brain devises with
unerring accuracy.
First; it is not to be supposed, if you are dwelling in a modern
apartment, that your wealth is unlimited, your resources illimitable and
just for that very reason your fertile brain has far more opportunity to
exercise its originality than if you merely telephoned "covers for
twelve" to some fashionable caterer, stepped into an evening gown held
by an obsequious maid, and exhibited your jewels at the head of your
well appointed table, conscious (if not troubled) by the fact that this
same man was turning out well-served dinners by the dozen, shaping them
all (like his ice-cream) in certain fashionable moulds.
We all retain just enough of the old Adam to relish a well earned
victory, and the old lady whose light hand for cake is the talk of the
township, is just as much of an artist in her own way as the fashionable
decorator. It is almost as impossible to set down a given rule for
entertaining as it was for the old darkey to present in tangible form
her famous recipe for pones. "Why, honey," said she, "it's easy enuf. I
jes stir up a little cohn meal and watah, adds some salt and other truck
and cooks it till it's done. Sho nuf you cud make it yousef."
It is quite as often the hand that stirs the cake as well as the
ingredients themselves that makes the entertainment successful.
There are some women who have a perfectly inexplicable talent for making
life livable. Under their deft fingers awkward curtains and draperies
assume classic form; from their imaginations blossom forth the most
marvelous devices for entertainment and comfort; their ferns never have
scales and their umbrella plants do not wither at the edges. These are
the women who, with studied patience and ready tact, overlook the small
ills our flesh is heir to and bring forth into the bright sunshine the
many opportunities which everyone's life contains.
A woman who lives in an apartment so tiny and modest it would seem at
first glance almost impossible to entertain therein, can study its best
effects and give as charming little dinners as were ever attended. Her
dining room, small but cosy, seems made for decoration and her table may
well be the delight of many a more ambitious hostess. The decorations,
simple, inexpensive and artistic, are the outward and visible signs of
her individual taste. No thick stalks of unbending and forbidding
"bouquets" disfigure her pretty vases. Her candles gleam through dainty
shades (of paper it is true) fashioned by her own deft fingers.
Full-skirted and fluffy, their inexpensiveness makes it quite possible
to have them of all colors and shades, and a much-prized pair of silver
candelabra lend dignity to the general effect.
Quiet entertaining, preceded by gracious little notes presaging a
cordial welcome, is one of her fancies, and one is quite sure that at
her home the entertainment will be deprived of customary stiffness and
will resolve into a merry table of congenial friends.
A short time ago an old friend of such a woman became engaged and
wishing to meet his fiancee she followed her call by an invitation to
supper. Appreciating the newness of the engagement and her slight
acquaintance with the young lady, she wisely made it a little supper of
four and decked her table with sweet simplicity.
Her china, of dainty Limoges, was purchased with an idea of being
serviceable for many occasions, and is mostly in odd half-dozens,
although the color scheme throughout is green and white, a combination
which blends well with anything. Her soup plates, tea plates, dinner
plates, platters and vegetable dishes are of the same pattern, but the
china for the entree, the salad set, dessert set, cheese plates, bread
and butter plates, etc., are all of a different but harmonizing design.
Green and white being always a lovely color for the table and also
admitting of very inexpensive treatment, make informal suppers not only
quite possible but very attractive as well.
The table was round, just large enough for four, and nearly covered with
a pretty lunch cloth embroidered in white. In the center a huge
butterfly bow of wide green ribbon that just matched the china trailed
nearly to the edge of the table. Over the cloth were scattered white
carnations and ferns in artistic carelessness, and two slender
candlesticks, with generously green skirted candles, broke the flat
effect. Each candlestick wore, with holiday gayness, a large green bow,
and the soft combination of color and grouping was charming.
The supper itself was very simple. A course of raw oysters and stuffed
mangoes, with the usual accompaniment of horseradish and lemon, came
first. Quail on toast with quince jelly (the jelly served in individual
forms on tiny leaves of lettuce) followed with stuffed potatoes as an
accompaniment and a delicious little chestnut salad was next in order.
The dessert was a rich chocolate cream, stiffened with gelatine and
moulded round with a large hole in the center. This was filled high with
thick cream, whipped, sweetened and flavored with maraschino. The
bonbons, of green and white, added the last touch of harmonic color to
the dainty little feast.
A LITTLE SUNDAY NIGHT SUPPER.
Shortly after this, encouraged by her success, she gave a little Sunday
night supper to introduce two young people to each other. The table, as
before, was round, but the colors used were yellow and white.
A large round tea cloth, fashioned by the hostess, covered the table. In
the center five ragged yellow chrysanthemums were fastened together with
a wide yellow ribbon and wired to a slender upright, which they entirely
concealed. Just inside the circle formed by the plates, glasses, etc., a
wavy circle of smilax trailed and ran out into little curves between the
plates. Nothing more simple could be imagined, but the guests had a very
appreciative look as they were seated. Getting acquainted under such
conditions was a very natural and easy process.
The supper was simplicity itself, and consisted of a clam cocktail;
frilled French chops with green peas; a rarebit made in the chafing-dish
and a rich lemon ice for dessert. In connection there were, it is
unnecessary to add, many delicious accompaniments. Brown bread
sandwiches, thin as wafers, were passed with the cocktail. Bread
accompanied the chops, the rarebit was served in a bank of cress, with
lettuce and cress sandwiches, and the ice was made even more delicious
by the addition of stuffed champagne wafers. A pleasant time in the
host's den followed, and thus, a happy little evening, quite within the
reach of anyone, was made possible by a little forethought.
The apartment in which this woman lives has only six rooms, so you can
imagine that entertaining (in its ordinary sense) is somewhat out of the
question, but very charming little "at homes" are given once a month
during the winter, and as the parlor and den adjoin, and are cosily
furnished to correspond, it is quite possible to entertain in this way.
If you attend her "Wednesdays" in December you will be ushered in by a
neat little maid in frilled cap and apron and black sateen gown. You
will find your hostess in the parlor with half-a-dozen others, and,
think you have a glimpse into Japanese fairyland. The den is somewhat
denuded of its ordinary furnishings, but the bizarre posters still
remain on the walls, and the couch, covered with a scrawly Japanese
creton, is still in evidence. Wires are stretched from picture moulding
to picture moulding, and Japanese lanterns swing gayly from above. In
one corner a huge paper umbrella, dangling with unlighted lanterns,
bright hued and tiny, swings over a low tea table, at which sits one of
the hostess' friends in Japanese array. Her dark eyes, blackened into
almond-shaped slits, vie with her decorated hair in foreign effect. From
dainty little Japanese cups we drink the tea she makes for us and thank
fortune there is one woman in the world at least who dares trifle with
the conventional "at home" and eliminate its objectionable features.
While drinking your tea you nibble at rolled Tutti Fruitti wafers, munch
delicious home-made bonbons, stuffed figs and nougat (for which your
hostess is so famous), revel in a huge Japanese jar (strangely like a
familiar umbrella stand) which holds five great ragged yellow
chrysanthemums with stems nearly three feet long, and finally settle
yourself down to listen to some quaint little love song, with guitar
accompaniment, sung by a dear little maid with bronze-brown hair.
This hostess limits each "at home" to twenty-five, so small a number it
makes the average hostess smile, but, if necessary, gives four or five
through the winter, as she needs no service beyond that of her own maid,
making the expense marvelously small. She has many friends who feel as
you do, that one bid to a sociable little "five o'clock" in her
doll-house flat is worth all the receptions of a week on gay upper Fifth
Avenue.
The first Saturday evening in each month, from November until April, she
and her husband are at home to his bachelor friends and any young
married people who can endure the suffocating atmosphere. All the easy
chairs are pressed into service, the little iron lanterns blink
joyously, and story-telling, music and smoking are the order of the
evening. The light being dim, positions are uncertain and bachelor
manners prevail, so unrestrained jollity reigns, and though the people
in the other flats may hear the echoing laughter they pass it over with
a good natured tolerance and wonder what there is that is so funny.
About half-past ten, when stories wane and a change seems desirable, the
little low tea table appears and a rarebit, souffle of oysters, or some
chafing-dish dainty, is prepared by the hostess. Occasionally, when one
of the men has a firmly founded reputation for some special dish he is
asked to officiate, which he does amid the joyous jokes of his
roistering colleagues, while everyone within reach renders able
assistance and the others keep up a running fire of disabling comments.
If one is willing to take advantage of their very present opportunities
it seems to me that limited means lose half their disadvantages. Choose
your apartment with a view to entertaining. If your bed-room opens from
the parlor make it dainty and sweet and close the portieres until merely
a glimpse appears.
Wax your hardwood floors and keep them shining like mirrors; if rugs are
scarce they will be a good apology. Make your friends welcome and give
them a good time when they come. An old-fashioned candy-pull is often
more entertaining than the most elaborately prepared function.
A STAG SUPPER. 1.
In the main room have a mellow light from two or three swinging iron
lanterns and several in Japanese paper. Off in one of the corners, have
a cut-glass bowl filled with punch and around it a ring of smilax. The
guests select their places by each choosing the name of one of six
popular actresses. A silver tray containing six small blank envelopes is
passed, and in each envelope is enclosed one of the host's cards, on the
back of which is inscribed the name of an actress. Passing into the
dining-room they find, at each place, a photo to correspond, on the back
of which is written some well-known quotations from the actresses' most
famous plays. These photos are removed from their original cards by
soaking, and are rebuffed and mounted on rectangular mats of dull gray,
on which the inscriptions are written in white ink.
In the dining room over the heavy damask cloth, is stretched a quaint
old German table runner, reaching from end to end of the table. In the
center, embroidered in the red cotton used in such work, hospitality
encourages jollity in the familiar old motto, "Ein froher Gast is
Niemand's Last" (a merry guest is no one's burden). "Wein, Weib und
Geasang," the faithful trio, is all represented. At each place, beside
the napkin, is a rich red rose, just large enough to form a dainty
boutonniere.
Mounds of red pickled cabbage accompany the oysters, rich tomato soup
follows, and the nougat ice cream is decorated with candied cherries.
The introduction of the bonbons in the form of candy cigars, tied in
bunches with the familiar yellow bands, causes amusement. Brandy is
burned on the coffee, and genuine cigars passed.
A STAG SUPPER. 2.
Turn the ballroom into a "roof garden" for a bachelor supper. Cover the
walls with canvas or grey cartridge paper painted to imitate grey bricks
with ivy leaves painted over the surface. In each window arrange a
little hedge of plants in pots and use screens of wire covered with
vines. Hang many colored lanterns from the roof and at intervals about
the room between tables and have tall branching standards with arms
from which hang the lanterns. Tall palms and bay-trees in tubs set about
the room add to the effect. Have a hidden orchestra to play airs from
the popular operas or have an impromptu vaudeville, the guests
furnishing the talent. A band of Gypsy fortune-tellers (men dressed to
imitate Gypsy girls) admitted at the close of the feast will furnish
fun, especially if they are men knowing the lives of the guests. Serve a
beefsteak supper with any kind of beverages you choose. For name cards
have steins cut from cardboard and decorated in imitation of the
Mettlach steins.
A BACHELOR SUPPER.
Have small mice pins for souvenirs. Decorate the long table in green
vines, white flowers and odd candle holders. Creeping in and out of the
vines have artificial snakes, frogs, and other reptiles. Have the
napkins held by toy spiders and fasten bats over the chandelier globes.
If one wishes a plain dinner serve oyster cocktails, tenderloin steak
with mushrooms, French fried potatoes, stewed corn, Lima beans, tomato
and onion salad with mayonnaise, cheesestraws, Bavarian cream, peach
cake, cheese, crackers, coffee. Pass cigars. Have colored waiters who
are good singers and between each course have them give a jubilee song.
After dinner let them entertain the guests with songs, and banjo and
guitar music.
CHAPTER IV.
SUPPERS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS--DANISH VALENTINE SUPPER--A HALLOWE'EN
GHOST HUNT--A HALLOWE'EN SUPPER--HALLOWE'EN SUPPER MENUS--A PIE PARTY
FOR THANKSGIVING SEASON--THE PIE SHELF--BIRTHDAY SUPPERS--BIRTHDAY
PARTY.
In Denmark our well known snowdrop, one of the earliest messengers of
spring, has been since olden days held sacred to St. Valentine.
On that auspicious eve the Danish lover sends his lady a bunch of
snow-drops (_vinter-gjaeks_), (winter jokes they are called, because
they peep out while it is yet winter and try to hoax people into
thinking spring has come), with a card attached bearing a verse or
sentiment and as many pin pricks as there are letters in his name. If
she cannot guess the name from this clew she is fooled (_gjaekket_), and
at Easter must pay the sender a forfeit of colored eggs.
This quaint bit of folk-lore can be used in a novel Valentine supper.
The invitations, bearing a bunch of painted snow-drops in one corner,
invite you to a "Danish Valentine supper."
Cherry and white are the national colors of Denmark, and these should be
used in the dining-room. The candles have cherry shades and in the
center of the snowy cloth have a square of cherry velvet, on which
snow-drops and ferns are banked with dainty effect. The menu cards are
shaped like hearts, tied with a knot of cherry ribbon and edged with
painted snow-drops. Across the top in gold letters is the word
"_welbekomin_" (may it agree with you.)
At each place have a tiny heart-shaped cup of cherry crepe paper,
holding a little bunch of snow-drops. The ices are in the shape of
hearts with a candied cherry in the center of each. Heart-shaped cakes
can be iced in pink, and mingled in the salad have tiny hearts cut from
slices of red beef.
When all are assembled in the parlor give each guest a square white
envelope enclosing a card having a knot of snow-drops in one corner with
cherry ribbon, and containing a verse and numerous pin pricks. Each one
must guess from these the name of his companion for supper.
Here are some of the verses, some of which are translations from the
Danish.
"Though a child of winter's cold and storm,
I bring to you love-greetings warm.
From whom? Ah, yes!
That shall you guess!
And that you may the sender surely know,
Count all the little pin-pricks signed below."
.... ......
* * * * *
"Little maiden fair and neat,
Here on stalk so light,
Fine as silk by fairies spun,
Hangs a snowdrop white;
From a friend I come--
Tell me now--from whom?"
.... .. ......
* * * * *
"Love's first kisses are the snow-drops,
Ringing here like fairy bells;
Let thy heart bend low and listen
To the tale their music tells."
...... ......
* * * * *
"Sir Knight, wouldst know thy lady's name?
These pin-pricks tell from whence I came."
.... .. ......
* * * * *
"Love wove the snow-flakes in a flower
To deck his lady's secret bower;
With them my love I now confess--
Thy true knight's name I'd have thee guess."
.... ......
* * * * *
"Farewell to winter! Now farewell--
We snow-bells rang his dying knell,
And had you but a fine, fine ear,
That could our fairy chiming hear,
Then should you know which friend so true
Has sent this vinter-gjaek to you:
For ever softly do we sing
The name of him whose love we bring."
........ .. ......
* * * * *
"Wouldst find the fair lady Fate chooses for you?
Then search ye this line of wee pin-pricks clear through."
.... ........
* * * * *
"For life, as for dinner, chance fixes our mate;
These pin-pricks point you the way to your fate."
........ ..........
A HALLOWE'EN GHOST HUNT.
"FR THE GOBBLE-UNS'LL GIT YOU, EF YOU DON'T WATCH OUT."
Have the above words from James Whitcomb Riley's poem printed in large
letters over the entrance, the door of which should open with a rattle
of chains and a creaking. Ask each guest to wear a false face and a red
or black domino. When all have assembled in the parlor, where lights are
turned low, have a guide in red with a Mephisto make-up or a witch to
instruct the party before it starts on the "ghost hunt." Not a word must
be spoken no matter what the provocation, not a giggle must be heard, no
one must turn his head or eyes, but look straight ahead. Have goblins in
red with big eyes painted on their cotton masks, holding clubs,
stationed along the route to watch offenders.
Take the party by a circuitous route, upstairs through dark rooms where
open windows and doors make the air cold, up into the attic, lighted
only by burning alcohol and salt, then down stairs, around the porches
and about the yard. If there is an outside cellar-way, take them down
that, otherwise inside the house to the cellar. All along the route have
imitation "spooks" placed in corners and unexpected places--grinning
Jack-o'lantern heads, with ghostly bodies, immense false faces with
lights behind them, witches, grotesque animals including black cats,
black bears, etc. From cobwebs of grey cotton or wool ropes suspend bats
and spiders. Leave objects about for guests to stumble over and have as
many terrifying noises as possible.
In a corner of the cellar, screened by canvas and guarded by fierce
goblins, have the Great Chief Ghost and his secretary on a throne.
Around the corner have a ring of ghosts manufactured from brooms with
sheets and white cowls. The ghost hunters sit on the floor in silence
for a few moments. Then the secretary, in terrible tones, calls the name
of each guest and gives the list of his pet sins. The secretary should
be a person with ready tongue and wit knowing jokes on each individual.
When the secretary finishes each case, the Great Chief Ghost asks the
defendant what he has to say for himself. If the latter plead his case
successfully and solemnly swear that he is prepared to tell a ghost
story if called upon, he is allowed to select his own punishment. If,
however, he cannot clear himself, the Great Chief Ghost names his
punishment. The sentences should be as ridiculous as possible.
The trip back from the cave should be as tantalizing as can be made.
Viands should be offered and whisked away. The clever host and hostess
can devise many tricks.
The Ghost Hunt should end in a brilliantly lighted dining room with
table set for supper and time allowed just before midnight to try the
familiar Hallowe'en charms. This party can be given by a club or church
using a big house and grounds. Decorate the table in unique arrangement
of pumpkins, fruits and candies and serve any preferred menu, or this
one:
_Oyster Soup, Alphabet Crackers,_
_Veal or Chicken Patties, Cold Boiled Ham or Tongue,_
_Potato Salad, Apple Sauce, Dill Pickles,_
_Hot Gingerbread, Cheese, Coffee._
A HALLOWE'EN SUPPER.
Some merry, friendly countra folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nuts, an' pluck their stocks
An' hand their hollowe'en.
--Burns.
"_Butter'd Sowens_"
_Broiled Squirrels, Hot Pocketbooks_
_Bow-kail Salad_
_Brownie Cake, Halloween Jelly_
_Roasted Chestnuts, Apples_
_Coffee_
BUTTERED SOWENS--Oatmeal made into mush and eaten with butter and sugar.
The Scotch always have this for their Hallowe'en supper.
BROILED SQUIRRELS--Your squirrels must be young and tender. Clean, and
soak to draw out the blood. Wipe dry, and broil over a hot, clear fire,
turning often. When done to a golden brown, lay in a hot dish and anoint
with melted butter. Season each squirrel with a salt spoon of salt and
half spoon of pepper. They are delicious.
HOT POCKETBOOKS--One pint of sweet milk, brought to boiling point, to
which, add one tablespoonful of sugar, half teaspoonful of salt and
butter the size of an egg; let cool till luke warm, then add half cake
of yeast, two eggs and a quart of flour. Let the dough rise in a warm
place until very light, then put down with the hand and let rise again;
roll out to about five-eighths of an inch thick, cut in four inch
circles, brush with melted butter and fold over; let rise on tins, bake
until a delicate brown, then while warm, go over the surface with melted
butter to make the crust tender.
BOW-KAIL SALAD--Put one-half cup of vinegar and one tablespoonful of
butter to heat in a double boiler. Beat yolk of one egg, one spoonful of
flour and one of sugar together, add two tablespoonfuls of sour cream
and cook in the vinegar until smooth. Just before it boils, stir in the
well-beaten white and pour immediately over your cabbage or "bow-kail,"
which has been shredded and salted.
BROWNIE CAKE--One cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one-half cup of
sweet milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful of vanilla, one cup and a half of
flour, sifted with one teaspoonful of baking powder. Set one square of
chocolate on a kettle of boiling water and let it melt. After melting,
mix one-half cup of sweet milk slowly in the chocolate, add half-cup of
sugar. Pour into batter, mix thoroughly, and bake in layers. Put
together with the following filling:
FILLING--Four ounces chocolate melted, add one-half cup of cream, two
tablespoonfuls of butter and one cup of sugar; boil until it forms a
very soft ball when dropped in cold water, then add one cup finely
chopped nuts. Spread this very thick between the layers. Ice with plain
chocolate icing, which you have reserved, before adding the nuts, and
decorate with unbroken halves of English walnuts.
HALLOWE'EN JELLY--Soften one ounce of gelatine in half a pint of cold
water. When quite soft, add half a pint of hot water and a pint of good
sparkling cider. If the cider be very sweet, the juice of a lemon is an
improvement. Set on ice until firm, and when ready to serve, turn into a
pumpkin shell which has been prettily carved on the edges.
HALLOWE'EN SUPPER MENUS.
A suggestive menu is the following:
_Goblins' Broth, Elves' Fingers_
_Fairy Rings_
_Chicken and Celery Salad in Mayonnaise Triangles_
_Almond Butter Hearts_
_Strawberry Jelly Crescents with Whipped Cream_
_Witches' Wands, The Cake of Doom_
_Fruit, Nuts, Bonbons_
_Coffee_
The goblins' broth is merely a delicious beef or chicken bouillon, the
elves' fingers, strips of brown bread and butter, and the fairy rings
mushroom patties baked in ring moulds. To make the salad use any
favorite recipe for chicken salad, and mix it with a bright golden
mayonnaise to which enough aspic jelly has been added to make it quite
firm when cold. Pour into a square mould to set, cut into dainty
triangles just before it is to be served, and lift carefully with a
broad thin-bladed spatula. Serve on crisp lettuce leaves on gilt-edged
plates. Spread white bread with almond butter and cut into heart shapes.
Mould the strawberry jelly in half moons and serve with a spoonful of
whipped cream (made golden with the yolk of egg) between the "horns."
The witches' wands are most delicious. Roll puff paste thin, sprinkle
lightly with finely chopped blanched almonds, press the rolling pin
lightly over again, and cut in strips not over two inches wide. Wind
from the small end of the pointed tin tubes called lady lock sticks, and
have each layer slightly overlay the preceding one. Set the tubes across
a baking pan and bake in a good oven to a deep yellow. When done remove
from the oven and push the paste from the tube. Just before serving fill
with pineapple meringue. Have bonbons in all kinds of suggestive shapes;
brownies, witches, brooms, rings, crescents, triangles, et cetera.
A PIE PARTY FOR THANKSGIVING SEASON.
Thanksgiving is the pie season _par excellence_. The very name calls up
visions of old fashioned, buttery shelves loaded down with rows upon
rows of the flaky wheels and delicious fillings.
A new idea in entertaining for Thanksgiving, "the pie party," makes use
of this American product. The scheme is an excellent one for the day
itself or for any time during Thanksgiving season.
To prepare for a pie party, get together as many pie plates as you can
beg, borrow or buy. A couple of dozen will be needed at least.
Arrange tables along the wall of the room in which the guests are to be
received, and place the pie plates upon these tables. Cover the tables
with white paper terminating in paper lace to give the effect of quaint,
old-fashioned shelves.
In each pan place a group of articles or pictures which will represent
in anagram the filling of a pie. Punning and word stretching of all
kinds are allowable, although each puzzle must be simple enough to be
readily recognized when guessed.
Here is a rough suggestion to show the plan of the puzzles. The hostess
may modify it to suit her own needs.
THE PIE SHELF.
A twig from a pine tree and an apple. Pineapple.
The letters of the word cheese on alphabet cards, jumbled together, with
a slice of cake. Cheesecake.
A cigarette case in the form of a coffin (bury) and a scrap of straw.
Strawberry.
A paperweight representing a ragged little dog and an entomological
photograph of the common ant. Cur(r)ant.
A little oyster crab and an apple. Crabapple.
A lead line (plumb). Plum.
A pot, the letter A from baby's alphabet and the toe of a boot
(pot-a-toe), all four articles being sprinkled with granulated sugar.
Sweet Potato.
A bicycle pump and a card having the words Father, Mother, Sister,
Brother, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, written upon it. Pump-kin.
A breakfast cocoa box and a chestnut. Cocoanut.
A tailor's iron and a berry. Blackberry.
Cardboard cut in the shape of a peach with "to inform against," written
upon it. Peach.
Two aces (pair). Pear.
A slip from the daily calendar bearing the date November. Date.
A bow of cherry colored ribbon. Cherry.
A bow of blue ribbon and a berry. Blueberry.
Some fluffy Easter chickens and a pot. Chicken pot pie.
A pair of pruning shears. Prune.
The guests are invited to inspect the pies and guess the contents. Each
player works for himself and consultations are not allowed.
Wee note books, having covers decorated in water color, with picturesque
Thanksgiving scenes, are distributed among the guests, for use in
writing down guesses.
It is explained that fruits, vegetables and everything of which pies are
made, figure in the list.
One hour is the usual time limit. The player, who in that time discovers
most of the fillings, carries off first honors. There should be a second
award and a couple of laughable boobies in the form of jelly tarts.
The first prize might be a smart silver pie knife, and the second a
pretty china pie dish.
Smoking hot roasted oysters, jellied tongue with chopped pickle served
in Spanish peppers, little hot rolls in form of balls, a plain tomato
salad and slices of delicious home-made pies are among the good things
of the menu.
BIRTHDAY SUPPER. 1.
In the cake put a gold penny, a silver four-leaf clover, and a little
image or amulet to drive away bad luck. Wrap them in paraffine or waxed
paper or coat them with paraffine before putting them in the cake. Ask
each one to make some birthday wish as the birthday person cuts his
slice of cake. Place the cake on a table wreathed in greens or flowers
or on a flower-trimmed tray. As many prefer scarlet carnations, this
flower and red candles will make a pretty party. Just after supper pass
the loving cup filled with claret, or fruit punch or cider. Each guest
takes a sip to the health of the host. If your guests enjoy cards, let
them play bridge, euchre, cinch, hearts, or the new card games in which
figures are involved. If they do not care for cards a short program of
old ballads by a good singer is always liked. As a surprise arrange a
little series of funny tableaux showing the different birthdays of the
guest of honor. To do this darken a room behind the players, and have a
big screen for a background. No special stage properties are needed as
the more ludicrous this is the more it will be enjoyed. Have some one at
the piano play appropriate music for the different tableaux. For one
year old have a baby in a cradle or in its mother's arms; for seventh
birthday, a little boy starting to school with books and apple or candy;
for the fourteenth birthday have a youth in sweater with football in
arms rushing to the goal; have the twenty-first birthday represented by
the young man courting, the twenty-eighth by the wedding; and for the
thirty-sixth have someone dressed and made up as nearly like the guest
of honor as possible.
For decoration have a frieze of ropes or smilax caught with scarlet
ribbon. Cover the chandeliers with the greens and the shades with
scarlet tissue paper. Bank the mantels with greens, having a mass of
scarlet berries or flowers in the center of each. Red candles and shades
on the mantels help the effect. If you have a table in the dining-room
make the initials of the guest of honor in candles placed in a large
wreath tied with scarlet ribbon. At each corner of the table have a
single candle in a smaller wreath.
For supper serve a hot course, creamed oysters, or creamed sweetbreads
and mushrooms, tiny hot buttered rolls and tiny pickles, chopped pickle
or spiced peach, quince or pear, or brandied quince; chicken salad, or
sweetbread salad on a lettuce leaf with cheese straws, stuffed olives,
coffee, ice cream frozen in fancy forms, (leaves being a pretty design),
and cakes in tiny squares with little red candies like scarlet berries
on green or white icing.
BIRTHDAY SUPPER. 2.
Candles may be used for a centerpiece and also to outline the figures
representing the number of years. A pretty ceremony, if you use candles
on a birthday cake, is to have each guest light a candle with a wish for
the guest of honor. When the cake is cut, blow out the candles and lift
them off.
For the red color scheme, garnish the dishes with radishes, slices of
tomatoes, red peppers, beet rings, candied cherries. Serve cream of
tomato soup, tiny radishes cut in rose forms, wafers, salted almonds.
Broiled lobster garnished with slices of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.
Serve individual chicken pies baked in ramekins and served in red paper
cases. In making these pies add mushrooms, potato marbles, white of
hard-boiled eggs cut in rings and yolks cut in half. Make the cream
sauce by using the liquor from the canned mushrooms, strong chicken
stock and milk, thickened with flour. With this course serve a relish in
red peppers, creamed peas, tiny hot rolls and a slice of sweet cucumber
or watermelon pickle with a candied cherry on top. A beet salad
garnished with rings of hard-boiled egg whites and the yolk run through
a ricer, or chicken salad served in red peppers, tomato, cucumber and
celery salad served in tomato shells, fruit salad served in red apples
hollowed out. Serve wafers with the salad course. A pretty idea for the
ice cream is to have it moulded in shape of candles with a little wick
to be lighted just as it is brought to the table. Serve little square
cakes with white icing and red bonbons. This menu gives two hot and two
cold courses. Serve coffee or tea. At the close of the supper pass a
loving cup of fruit punch, grape juice or wine, and ask each one to
drink to the health of the guest of honor.
BIRTHDAY PARTY.
The guests are requested to represent, in some manner, their birth
month.
Most of them wear the birth stone suitable to the month which, as old
legend tells us, is sure to protect against misfortune, the jewel acting
as a talisman.
Some may substitute flowers appropriate to their birth month. A young
lady, whose birthday is in January, may wear a string of tiny silver
beads which tinkle musically wherever she goes. Another claiming
January, also, as her birth month, may wear a brooch showing an old man
and an infant, representing the old and new year.
February's children are decked in red paper hearts, pierced with arrows.
A young girl wearing a white apron, with several bars of music on the
hem, represents March.
April is represented by a paper fool's cap, and May by a pretty spring
gown, decorated with violets and lilies of the valley.
July, with her tri-colored streamers and numerous flags is easily
dressed.
August has white organdy and carries a palm leaf fan.
September is adorned with golden rod and purple asters.
October's daughter, wears a rich yellow gown, nearly covered with
glorious autumn leaves, and a cap of the same brilliant leaves.
November's costume is most striking, being a poster design, representing
Thanksgiving.
December's is a picturesque suit of white eider down flannel, ornamented
with holly berries and running pine.
Each guest is requested to furnish one dish appropriate to the month in
which she was born. In this way the supper is quite out of the ordinary
and the only tax on the hostess, with the exception of her one dish, is
for coffee, pickles and cake. Below is given the menu:
_Oyster Stew,_
_Butter Wafers,_
_Fish Souffle,_
_Potato Balls with Cream Sauce,_
_Cold Turkey,_
_Currant Jelly,_
_Salted Nuts,_
_Olives,_
_Salmon Sandwiches,_
_Orange and Nut Salad,_
_Wafers,_
_Strawberries,_
_Ice Cream and Cake,_
_Pumpkin Pie and Cheese,_
_Fruit,_
_Coffee._
CHAPTER V.
MISCELLANEOUS SUPPERS--CAMPING PARTIES AND CLAMBAKES--NUTTING
PARTY--HARVEST HOME SUPPER--AUTUMN SUPPERS--DICKENS SUPPER--BOSTON
SUPPER PARTY--YACHTING PARTY--A BUTTERFLY SUPPER--YOUNG MARRIED COUPLES
SUPPER--HEAD DRESS SUPPER PARTY--QUILTING SUPPER--WEDDING SUPPER--WAFFLE
SUPPER--THE BOHEMIAN PICNIC SUPPER--RAILROAD PARTY--LITERARY
SUPPER--PEANUT PARTY--FOLK LORE SUPPER--CAKE WALK SUPPER--BRIDGE WHIST
SUPPER--AFTER THEATRE MENUS--A COLD SUPPER MENU FOR HOT WEATHER.
Throughout this broad land of ours, thousands of campers will be folding
their white tents into compact rolls, tying gay blankets into portly
bundles, investing in mosquito netting and hammocks, packing into boxes
their cooking utensils and fishing tackle, and finally loading all into
boat or farmer's wagon, to gain health and happiness, and incidentally,
to have a royal good time.
Happy the camper who, taking hint from the big lumber camps, ties to his
wagon an iron bean pot, and has always on hand for hungry souls a mess
of delicious baked beans. Every well-regulated camp should have a
bean-hole dug close by the camp fire, and then when guests come out from
town, if the camp is near town, a bean bake enlivens things. The
bean-hole is dug three feet square and carefully lined with flat stones
or boulders, then it is filled with hard wood which makes fine coals.
The wood is fired and burned until there glows a bed of hot coals and
the stones are at white heat. A place is scooped out in the center for
the bean-pot, and it is placed in this little oven, the coals swept back
into place, the hot ashes added, and the hot earth around the fire put
over it all. Then, snugly tucked away in their bed so warm, the beans
are left alone for four and twenty hours. When taken out, steaming and
fragrant, they are perfect in form, brown and crisp, and of flavor so
delicious that the mouth waters at the mere recollection. This with
brown bread or cone pone, baked in the ashes, and good strong coffee,
makes a meal in itself, and if the beans are served hot, the hungry
campers feel they have had a feast fit for a king. Those who cling to
their bean-pots keep one mess of beans baking all the time and are never
without this dish. Even city folks have had royal good times at bean
bakes given at some home with large yard, and, with an addition to the
beans, salads, sandwiches, cakes, and other frills, generally scorned
and passed by for the delicious baked beans.
Naturally digging a hole in the ground and building a fire does not
constitute a dish of baked beans; among other things necessary might be
mentioned the beans themselves. These are soaked over night and then
placed in the iron pot; the best sort is the English kettle with three
iron legs and rounding bottom. Right in the center of the beans a place
should be made for the pork. The pork should be pickled pork of a
particular kind--fat on top, lean below and scored across the top. One
pound of pork to one pound of beans is the allowance. For flavoring use
one cookingspoonful of New Orleans molasses; one teaspoonful of mustard,
one teaspoonful of salt and one of pepper. Stir into the beans and fill
even to the top of the pork with water. Given twenty-four hours of slow
baking, with no chance for the moisture to escape, the result is an
ideal dish worth trying.
To the camper who comes in when the sun is tinging the western sky with
crimson, tired and hungry from carrying a gun or holding a fishing rod
all day, there is no dish so appreciated as chowder. This dish is easy
of preparation. Take peeled potatoes and parboil them, then add fresh
water, and put into the kettle the result of the day's chase. The little
birds found along the streams, like squabs and sandpipers, are fat and
give the chowder a fine flavor. In go the fish, squirrels and other
small game, the fish of course, being boned. Add green corn cut from the
cob, salt and pepper, and perhaps a little salt pork, though the little
birds furnish fat enough. Serve smoking hot and as you stretch your
tired limbs under the camp table, you will thank your stars that some
genius invented chowder.
The ideal way to cook fish in camp is to first clean the fish and then
stuff it, if one chooses (though he need not stuff the fish unless he
like) and then make a stiff mortar of clay and encase the fish. Lay it
on the coals and when the clay cracks and peels off the skin of the
fish comes off with it, leaving the pure sweet fresh meat, which retains
the juices and delicate aroma of the fish. This way of cooking fish
cannot be beaten. This is also a good way to cook corn. Just leave on
the husks and lay the ears on the coals and by the time the husks have
burned off the corn is cooked deliciously. In the regions where shad
abounds, there is nothing to be compared with planked shad, and this is
the most popular dish. The shad is fastened on an oak shingle and turned
before the fire until it is cooked, when it will be found that the fish
has absorbed the aroma of the wood and the result is a flavor that
delights epicures.
CLAM BAKE.
A clam-bake is a delight wherever and whenever partaken of, but when it
is prepared in the piney woods of Cape Cod by the inimitable skippers of
Buzzards Bay it is something that is not to be forgotten. It is a joy,
from the gathering of the first stone to the swallowing of the last
possible clam.
The skippers of Onset are particularly noted for their skill in making
clam-bakes.
First select the stones, (which must be about the size of large paving
blocks,) and arrange them in a circle. Then bring wood and chips and
brush and lay them in the center, and thoroughly pile on top other
blocks which have been collected.
The pile of stones and wood being completed, the next thing is to set
fire to it, and soon a merry blaze rises up, the flames licking around
the stones and forming a pretty picture.
The stones once hot enough the real work of the bake begins. The right
amount of heat has been obtained, a barrow load of rockweed is
brought--rockweed, not seaweed. As soon as the rockweed is thrown on the
red hot stones a salty, savory smelling steam begins to rise.
First and foremost come two great barrow loads of clams which are spread
on the steaming rockweed, then follow great piles of blue fish, each
fish being stuffed and wrapped in a piece of cheesecloth to prevent
coming into contact with the weed.
The blue fish is carefully placed on top of the clams and following that
is a heaping load of corn, with a few leaves left on each ear to protect
it from the weed. When the corn is piled high a barrow weighed down with
live lobsters is brought.
Be particular over the disposition of the lobsters. Each one is placed
with care and precision into the precise spot where it will do most
good.
A milk pail full of fresh eggs follows the lobsters and the whole mass
of food is buried in a stack of rockweed, and to complete the process a
sail and a tarpaulin are drawn over the top and battened all down so
that not a speck of steam can escape.
While the guests play games or stroll along the shore, the men heat big,
round stones in the oven. This is a deep hole lined with stones, and the
fire is built in the hole. When the fire dies down the stones are left
red hot. Then the chef places dozens of clams in their shells on the
hot rocks. Then a blue fish wrapped in cheesecloth and then half a dozen
chickens prepared for broiling and wrapped in a similar way are placed
in the hole. Next comes a peck of Irish potatoes with their jackets on,
and three dozen ears of sweet corn. Over it all is packed seaweed and
then heavy canvas, and then the guests sit patiently for three-quarters
of an hour until the steam has thoroughly cooked the supper. When it is
done it is fit for a king, and is served on a long table of boards, on
wooden platters, with big watermelons for dessert.
NUTTING PARTY.
A nutting party is particularly appropriate to be given during the fall
season.
The invitation may be written on paper, folded neatly and slipped inside
an English walnut shell--which is then glued together and sent in a
small box, labeled "A Nut to Crack."
Decorations should carry out, as far as possible, the effect of a
woodland scene. The walls may be entirely covered with branches of
autumn leaves, and mantels and over doorways banked with pine boughs and
greenery of all sorts. Rustic tables and chairs, if available, are most
appropriate, and lights shaded with red or yellow shades. As the guests
arrive, each should be given a peanut shell, glued together or tied with
ribbons. On a slip of paper inside is written the number of table and
partner. To indicate progressions, ribbons may be glued to nuts of
different kinds and one given for each game won. Or little baskets may
be given into which a nut is dropped for each game won. Or if tally
cards for finding partners are preferred, they may be painted to
represent nuts of different kinds, not more than two being alike.
The nutting game itself is played similarly to that well known
children's game, "jackstraws." On each table is placed a pair of bonbon
tongs--the kind that come in candy boxes are best--and a tall tumbler
heaped full of nuts--peanuts are best for the purpose--with one gilded
nut. For the first game, lady No. 1 at all the tables begins play and
after the first game the lady begins who lost in the game preceding. The
gentleman opposing the lady who begins play, carefully turns out on the
table the peanuts and the players proceed as in jackstraws, getting with
the tongs as many peanuts as possible, one at a time, without shaking
the others. The winners progress and change partners, after the bell
rings at the head table. At the head table, as at the other tables, the
winners progress and the losing lady remaining begins play for the next
game. At the head table each player has two chances at the peanuts and
then the bell is rung. The natural-color peanuts count one each and the
gilded one ten.
Suitable prizes are: For the ladies, a silver English walnut thimble
case; a linen centerpiece in chestnut design; a silver almond charm,
"Philopena," which opens with kernel inside; a silver English walnut,
exact size, which opens, containing powder puff, mirror, place for
miniature, small scent bottle and pin-cushion, "All in a Nut Shell"; a
real English walnut shell containing a fine lace-betrimmed
handkerchief, enclosed in a series of boxes, one fitting within the
other; a sterling silver almond set or almond scoop; a silver
vinaigrette in exact reproduction of a peanut. For the gentlemen, a
burnt wood nut bowl, with nut cracker and set of nut picks; a handsome
edition of E. P. Roe's "Opening of a Chestnut Burr;" a silver peanut
magic pencil, etc. The shops show big paper mache English walnuts,
peanuts and almonds, full of sweetmeats in imitation of the real nuts,
which make appropriate consolation prizes. French "surprise mottoes" in
the shape of walnuts, each containing a hat, make very amusing favors.
The refreshments may perfectly carry out the nutting idea:
_Peanut Sandwiches, Walnut Sandwiches,_
_Chicken and Nut Salad,_
_Salted Nuts,_
_Bisque of Almonds or Burnt Almond Ice Cream,_
_Cocoanut, Hickory Nut, or Pecan Cake,_
_Nut Bonbons, Festinos,_
_Cheese Balls with English Walnuts,_
_Coffee._
For the peanut sandwiches, use the ready-made peanut butter. For walnut
sandwiches, chop meats very fine, mix with mayonnaise and spread on
buttered bread. Serve salad on lettuce leaf, garnished with a few whole
nut meats. In salting mixed nuts, it is not considered necessary to
blanch any except almonds and peanuts. The bisque of almonds requires
one pound blanched almonds, one heaping cup of sugar and two pints of
cream. Pound almonds a few at a time, together with a little sugar and
rosewater, mix with cream and freeze. For burnt almond ice cream use one
quart of cream, one-half pound of sugar, four ounces of shelled almonds,
one teaspoon of caramel, one tablespoon of vanilla, 4 tablespoons of
sherry. Blanch and roast almonds, then pound in a mortar to a smooth
paste. Put one-half the cream and the sugar on to boil, stir until the
sugar is dissolved, then add the remaining pint of cream and the
almonds; stand away to cool; when cold, add the caramel, vanilla and
sherry. Freeze and pack. For the nut cake, use two pounds nuts cut fine,
eight eggs, one pound sugar, one pound flour, one teacup butter, two
heaping teaspoons baking powder, one cup milk, and juice of one lemon.
Mould the cheese balls round with the hands, and stick an English walnut
meat on either side.
HARVEST HOME SUPPER.
The rooms can be trimmed beautifully with corn, asparagus, hops,
Jack-o'lanterns, and so on. State in the invitations, which are to be
tied in corn husks with grass, that a hay-rack will call for the guests.
On each of the gate posts place huge Jack-o'lanterns. In fact, have
these for illumination wherever one can find places to put them. For
decoration use autumnal grasses, wheat, oats and corn, and festoon
strings of them wherever possible. Make a frieze around the room of ears
of corn from which the husks are pulled apart. This will form a festoon
from which will hang down like tassels, the ears of white and yellow
corn, and if one can find a few red ears so much the better.
Bank the fire-place and corners with boughs of autumn leaves, and
festoon them in garlands wherever there is a vacant place. Scrub the
bare floors well, put a little wax on them, and engage one or two
musicians to dispense old time melodies.
Carry out the Harvest Home idea in the dining-room. Have most of the
decorations, fruits and garlands with graceful sprays of the Virginia
creeper in the glory of its autumnal colors, festooned from doors to
windows and back again, and have the table decorations the same. Serve
the guests sitting around the room, with delicious turkey, ham, bread,
sweet and sour pickles, doughnuts, cider, etc. By all means have pumpkin
pie, which would be so much in keeping with the occasion.
AN AUTUMN SUPPER.
Just before closing your cottage for the season, send out invitations to
friends, asking them to spend an evening with you at your home. The
invitations may be written upon scarlet maple leaves. When the evening
for entertaining arrives the cottage should reflect the glory of the
woods. Boughs and branches of silver and sugar maples decorate the hall,
"den," dining room and kitchen, and berries, vines and burrs fill jars,
vases and cornucopias of birch bark. In the rough stone fire-places, log
fires burn. The guests go to the kitchen to make maple sugar creams, and
while the candy is hardening, games are played and stories told. Each
guest, blindfolded, must draw the outline of a maple leaf. Next, leaf
shaped cards are distributed with the names of different trees written
upon them, acrostically arranged. A nut race closes the games, and the
prizes are then awarded. Then the company may gather around the fire.
Bundles of lichen covered twigs, of pine cones and of twisted tree roots
are selected according to individual fancy and put on the fire, each
person telling a story, original or otherwise, until his bundle is
burned away; the changing shapes in the fire suggesting many quaint
fancies.
For table decorations have a garland of leaves encircle the polished top
just outside the plates. A large wreath and a low bowl of nut burrs and
sprays of bright leaves and berries make a gorgeous centerpiece. Have
smaller wreaths around the bonbon and nut dishes, and mats of leaves
laid under the plates and dishes and used for doilies under the finger
bowls. A birch bark cornucopia of maple sugar candy and a droll little
nut Indian clad in a scarlet blanket by each plate make pretty souvenirs
of the feast. Leaves can be pasted on the candle shades which are made
of stiff-buff paper:
_Roasted Quail on Toast,_
_Strawed Potatoes,_
_Salad Sandwiches, Maple Layer Cake,_
_Waffles,_
_Nuts, Coffee._
WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUMPKIN.
The hostess who wants to provide a simple, and at the same time a novel
entertainment for her friends should call to her aid the glossy, orange
coated pumpkins. With pumpkins for the motif, so to speak, an evening
full of fun may be enjoyed. Decorate square white cards with a huge
pumpkin; one who cannot draw can cut a very presentable looking pumpkin
from orange paper and paste it on the cards. Then write on each: The
Mighty Mammoth Pumpkin will be on exhibition at Mrs. Blanks, from 7 to
11 p. m., next Thursday night. You are cordially invited to come and
guess its weight. Get the largest pumpkin you can find and a goodly
collection of shapely, medium-sized ones. Make a record of the weight,
the length, and the girth of the big pumpkin, then carefully cut open
lengthwise and scoop out, and if trouble is no object count the seeds.
Fill the pumpkin with sawdust and bury in it the souvenirs, simple
little trifles, orange hued penwipers, needlebooks, pincushions, etc.
Wrap them up in paper and bury them deep. Set the pumpkin on a mat of
leaves on a small table and label "Hands Off." Each guest is given a
card with a pencil attached to record his guesses. Little leather
covered inkstands, the exact counterpart of tiny pumpkins, and pumpkin
paper weights equally as natural in appearance are appropriate for the
head prizes, while pumpkin emery bags and pumpkin-shaped blotters will
please the winners of the boobies. The rest of the evening may be spent
in carving Jack o' Lanterns from, small pumpkins. The guests may be
required to write a recipe for pumpkin pie which will bring forth some
wonderful flights of fancy. Decorate the rooms with pumpkin vases filled
with chrysanthemums and have a bowl of orange fruit cup set inside of a
large pumpkin for the guests' refreshment during the evening. In
setting the table have a pumpkin vase of ferns and yellow and white
chrysanthemums for the centerpiece. The supper is served from pumpkin
dishes. Select round, deep pumpkins with a stem, choosing those of a
pretty color and shape. Saw off the tops even, so they may be put back
on the pumpkins as lids, scoop out and line with parchment paper. As
this supper is very informal, sandwiches with various fillings, a rich
chicken salad made with walnut meats and chopped celery, cheese and
bread sticks and coffee may form the substantial part. Stuffed figs and
dates, bonbons and macaroons are served for the sweet course and an
orange ice or snow pudding in little pumpkin paper cases.
A DICKENS' SUPPER.
A happy selection of time for a Dickens party is the Christmas season,
which is so peculiarly connected with so many of Dickens' writings.
Have the rooms brilliantly lighted, and the bright berries of the
Christmas holly against a background of the "ivy green" which Dickens
loved. The hostess might dress in a handsome costume of the time of
Edith Dombey.
The guests can each represent some character of Dickens.
Betsy Trotwood, tall and rigid in stiff gown and tight cap.
Dora, young and blonde, with infantile manner.
Peggotty, buxom and tightly compressed into her gown.
Dick Swiveller and the marchioness.
Mrs. Tizziwig, "one vast substantial smile."
Madame Defarge, stolid and plying her ceaseless knitting.
Joey B., with his swagger, "Sly sir; devilish sly."
Mr. Micawber, bland and portly.
Little Nell and her grandfather, and so on with the characters which
Dickens has made living creatures indeed. Gathered in the reception
rooms the group will make a quaint, lovely picture to the entering
guest. When all the guests have arrived cards are distributed, on each
of which is a water colored sketch of some of Dickens' characters. An
English walnut shell tied with pink ribbon and attached to the corner of
the card holds a quotation from Dickens, and beneath this nut is the
pertinent quotation, "The Dickens to crack." A prize can be awarded to
the one answering most correctly from which books the different
quotations were taken.
Some of the pathetic scenes from Dombey and Son can be read by some one
whose musical voice and gentle face, as well as intelligent reading,
make this part especially effective. The hostess can read an extract
from verses headed "The Christmas Carol" in Pickwick Papers.
"My song I troll out, for Xmas stout
The hearty, the true and the bold;
A bumper I drain and with might and main
Give three cheers for this Christmas old!
We'll usher him in with a merry din,
That shall gladden his joyous heart,
And we'll keep him up while there's bite or sup,
And in fellowship good we'll part."
Pass around small glasses of egg-nog and have toasts of Christmas cheer.
For refreshments have delicious oyster and mushroom cream soup, cold
wild duck, jelly and celery. A frozen salad after this; it is made of
tomatoes (canned) cooked a little, strained, and when cold mixed with a
thin mayonnaise, then frozen, making a delight for the palate. The ice
is a lemon ice frozen in individual molds very hard and covered with a
hot chocolate sauce, making a most delicious blending of hot and cold,
sweet and sour. A tiny glass of cordial completes the repast.
For the prize for the quotations have a handsome copy of Christmas
Stories tied with red ribbons and ornamented with a bunch of holly. For
the booby prize have a bag of the buttons Peggotty burst from her gown
when an exuberance of emotion filled her breast.
A BOSTON SUPPER PARTY.
When the guests assemble put them in charge of a man with a megaphone
and start them through the rooms on a "Seeing Boston" tour. Have fake
tablets and different objects to represent the places of interest. These
objects could be numbered and turn the "Seeing Boston" into a guessing
contest. Give each guest a note book and pencil to enter the correct
name opposite the correct number. This can include side trips to
Lexington, Concord, Bedford, etc.
Take the folders and circulars of a trip through Boston, cut out the
tiny pictures, mount on grey paper, letter with white ink and give them
as souvenirs. Or remove all lettering and use these pictures as a
contest, asking the guests to name the pictures correctly. For amusement
have "Paul Revere's Ride" acted in pantomine, or charades on the
different names. For supper serve pork and baked beans, Boston brown
bread, pie, tea, etc. Tiny earthen bean-pots, spectacles, handbags,
imitation folders--any of these things would do for souvenirs.
A YACHTING PARTY.
Have a large room fitted up as the deck and after deck of a steam yacht.
To reach the room have the guests climb through a hatchway. Steamer
chairs and nautical paraphernalia fill the deck and a dozen life
preservers hang conveniently near. Have all the necessary rigging and a
flag pole floating the yacht flag. The host and his guests should wear
yachting costumes and the souvenirs be tiny red and green lanterns for
the men and yacht stickpins for the girls. The menu cards are decorated
with the insignia of the yacht and couched in nautical terms. Serve the
following menu:
_Oysters in Block of Ice_
_Celery, Stuffed Olives, Salted Wafers_
_Rum Omelet_
_Cold Ham, Cold Tongue, Olives_
_Pate de fois gras Sandwiches, Rare Beef Sandwiches_
_Roquefort Cheese, Hard Crackers_
_Grape Fruit Salad_
_Coffee_
A BUTTERFLY SUPPER.
Under the chandeliers, in corners and doorways, have butterflies
fluttering from invisible silver wires. These butterflies are made from
delicate hued crepe paper, their wings marked with rings of ruby, green,
blue, gold and silver. Each guest is offered a butterfly on entering the
drawing room; the men wearing them as boutonniers, the women putting
them in their hair.
The host fastens a large paper butterfly, minus one wing and the
antennæ, to a curtain hung across a window. Each guest, in turn,
blindfolded, tests his idea of distance in trying to pin the wing and
antennæ on the butterfly. A set of six paper butterfly princess lamp
shades is the woman's head prize. A butterfly whisk holder, containing a
silver handled brush, is given the equally lucky man. The "boobies" are
a miniature lantern and a toy spy-glass.
In the dining room this supper is served. First a fruit drink, lemonade
or grape juice. On the plate on which the glass cup rests have a small
bunch of purple grapes. Decorate fish plates with lemon baskets holding
the sauce tartare. With broiled chops serve stuffed tomatoes and corn
pudding moulded in cups with white sauce flavored with onion. Serve
raspberry ice. For salad serve pears and German cherries sweetened. For
dessert serve the nutmeg muskmelons filled with ice cream or ice.
Have a tin-smith make a butterfly shaped cake cutter, four inches across
the wings. Bake these cakes in a quick oven, ice them white, pink and
green and then mark with rings of a contrasting color of icing.
The centre scarf and doilies, of fine white linen, for the dining table,
have a cut-out butterfly border worked with white silk and gold thread.
A fairy rose-tree, trained on a bamboo trellis, the pot dressed in
skirts of white and green paper and sash of satin ribbon, makes a most
effective centre piece. Paper butterflies shade the candles, and a crepe
paper covered box of bonbons, with a butterfly hovering over the top,
stands beside each plate. Decorate the name cards with sketches of
butterflies.
YOUNG MARRIED COUPLES' SUPPER.
For the young married couples' supper carry out the heart-shape idea.
Outline large heart in smilax on the table. Have the smilax at least
three inches wide. Dot it with clusters of roses, lilies of the valley
or any preferred flower. In the center have a mound of the same flowers
and between the center and the smilax place individual candlesticks with
white candles and shades to match the flowers. A few single flowers may
be scattered over the cloth. For a menu serve a fruit cup in the parlor
before asking the guests to the dining room. At the table have first hot
bouillon with a bit of lemon in it. Have the main course fried chicken
and rice with shoestring potatoes, tiny red radishes, creamed
cauliflower, pickles and hot rolls. Creamed sweetbreads on toast may be
used for a course if wished. Serve salmon salad on a lettuce leaf and
with it reception flakes on which grated cheese has been sprinkled and
the wafers put in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. To serve
the chicken take a large chop plate, pile the rice in a snowy mound in
the center and place the pieces of chicken around it, serving a spoonful
of rice with each piece of chicken.
A HEAD-DRESS SUPPER PARTY.
For a head-dress party ask each guest to dress the hair in some fancy
way. The men dressing in Washington, Jefferson and other wigs noted in
history, while the ladies fix their locks according to noted beauties,
queens, and others. Strings of pearls, tiaras, and jewels make a
beautiful display. Conventional evening dress is worn in most instances,
save where a ruff or frill is added to heighten the effect of the
headgear. A prize is offered for the best head-dress. The minuet makes a
pretty dance to finish the evening.
For refreshments serve chicken salad in tomatoes hollowed out or
cucumber boats, cheese wafers, stuffed olives, tiny pickles and squares
of jelly, strawberries and plain vanilla ice cream, chocolate cake,
coffee or chocolate. Serve fruit punch during the evening.
A QUILTING SUPPER.
Build a little log cabin of twigs for the center of the supper table and
arrange stick candy, bread sticks, celery, cheesesticks and other
viands, log-cabin style, on pretty plates. Light the table by candles in
old-fashioned candlesticks. Serve a hot course, oyster patties,
sandwiches, potato salad, hot gingerbread, apple sauce, tea and coffee.
WEDDING SUPPER.
First serve an orange or lemon ice. Serve this in tall glasses and
decorate the top of the glass with a sprig of mint. Have the ice served
from a tray decorated with a wreath of green or green and white. For the
green have mint leaves, lemon verbena or geranium leaves or ferns. Then
serve chicken salad made of the breast of chicken cut in dice, celery
cut coarse, and large nut meats. Add sweetbreads and cucumbers to the
salad if desired. Mix with a white mayonnaise and serve in white head
lettuce, using the cup-like outside leaves. Use the tiny lettuce heart
for a crown, and garnish with white radishes cut into roses, and olives
cut in fancy shapes. Serve plain white bread and butter sandwiches cut
in hearts and rings or salted wafers. Have the salad on white plates and
passed from a tray trimmed in ferns or white sweet peas. Have the ice
cream in any fancy shape. Pink hearts dotted with pink candied
roseleaves makes a very pretty course. Lay a pink rose on each plate. If
one cannot get fancy shapes from their caterer, use the cone shaped
spoon and dish the cream in shape of cones. Then surmount each cone with
a pink candy heart. For cakes, serve cocoanut balls or squares of white
cake covered with pink or green icing. Serve these from a tray or
platter covered with pink and white sweet peas, putting the cakes in
among the flowers. Have the wedding cake on a flower trimmed table under
a gay little canopy and have the bride cut it the last thing, after
coffee is passed.
A WAFFLE SUPPER.
Let us have a waffle party and introduce some of the men to more
intimate acquaintance with the mysteries of the cuisine.
Flat dwellers (the word always reminds me of "Cliff dwellers") seem to
consider that the propinquity of the kitchen makes entertaining a
difficult matter, but if the truth were known, it makes possible many a
winter evening's jollity.
The invitations are made of cream white satin, fashioned in the exact
shape and size of a waffle section, padded with white cotton wadding and
tacked to simulate the meeting place of the irons. They are then
scorched to the right color with a hot iron and on them is printed in
sepia tints
"Come and eat me;"
on the reverse side is printed
Date "----, at 8 P. M. ---- Ave."
Use the abbreviated forms for this lettering on account of the
difficulty encountered from limited space and the writing on satin.
Before the evening arrives prepare cards about four by six inches, in
the center of which print a much praised recipe for waffles, reading as
follows: Six cups flour; three teaspoonfuls baking powder; four cups
milk; three tablespoonfuls butter; one and one-half teaspoonfuls salt;
nine eggs beaten separately. Mix flour, baking powder and salt, yolks
with milk, then melted butter, flour and last the beaten whites.
In the upper left hand corner of the card have a small pen and ink
sketch of some cooking utensil and in the right hand corner a number. In
the center a ribbon for fastening. The utensils are as follows: 1.
Waffle irons. 2. Mixing bowl. 3. Milk bottle. 4. Salt box. 5. Eggs. 6.
Egg beater. 7. Butter. 8. Flour sieve.
It is possible to introduce as many different cooking utensils as there
are guests.
After half an hour's visit let the guests all repair to the kitchen
where the numbered articles are to be found. No. 1, to whom is
apportioned the two waffle irons, lights the gas under them, greases the
irons when hot with a square of salt pork on the end of a fork
and--later--cooks the first waffle, but that comes later on. Each
secures his special utensil.
The Master of Ceremonies takes charge and calls off the various
ingredients in proper order. Number 2 warms the mixing bowl slightly,
Number 3 unstoppers the milk and measures it, Number 4 measures the
salt, Number 5 breaks the eggs and beats the yolks, Number 6 beats the
whites, Number 7 melts the butter, Number 8 measures the flour, Number 9
produces and measures the baking powder, etc.
Finally, when all is ready and the Master of Ceremonies has
superintended the proper mixing, the rest adjourn to the dining room,
leaving numbers one and two to bake the first waffles.
The Master of Ceremonies sits at the head and the numbers run
consecutively from his right. The swinging doors through the butler's
pantry are propped open so as not to isolate the cooks and the supper
begins.
At one end of the table have a medium sized veal loaf, at the other a
mould of tongue jellied with hard boiled eggs. Chocolate is poured at
one side of the table, coffee at the other. Marmalade, pickles and
graham bread cut thin and made into sandwiches are placed in small
dishes. Two large bowls of whipped cream with small bowls of powdered
sugar, two pitchers of maple syrup boiled down and beaten until thick as
batter, are for service with the waffles.
By the time the meats are served, the first sets of waffles are ready
and the cooks pass them around. The next couple then pass to the kitchen
to bake the next sets and so on until all are served.
THE BOHEMIAN PICNIC SUPPER.
An indoor moonlight picnic is a new diversion. The lights should be
hidden by soft white silk shades, giving a moonlight effect, and the
rooms decorated with foliage plants. A fishpond with grotesque objects,
including a live mermaid, (a man in startling costume), is one feature.
In one room is a "merry-go-round." The chairs are placed in a circle and
a graphaphone in the center plays popular tunes. At 10 o'clock the doors
to the dining room are opened. The table cloth is spread on the floor,
surrounded by cushions. In one corner of the room are the baskets
containing the supper of sandwiches, olives, pickles, baked beans, cake,
pie and other picnic favorites. The girls take the viands from the
baskets and arrange them on the floor, while the men serve coffee from a
coffee boiler on a small table. During the meal each guest is obliged
to describe some picnic he has attended or pay a forfeit.
A RAILROAD PARTY.
Have a "railroad party" if you like the refreshing flavor of informality
at your social functions.
Have the invitations read, "an excursion on the Funville, Frolictown &
Featherbrain Railway."
To begin with, the rapidly gathering guests "getting aboard" are greeted
by the hostess and her receiving party, who cover their evening attire
with spic-and-span linen dusters and caps. Down the line are distributed
a miscellaneous collection of peregrinating paraphernalia from the red
and white cotton umbrella, which the hostess resolutely grasps in the
middle, to the omnipresent hand-box and the traditional bird cage.
With a final "all aboard" from a bustling man in regulation railway
uniform, accompanied by the clanging of a bell, the trip to interesting
cities begins. The conductor, in blue coat and brass buttons, promptly
appears, to distribute tickets to the animated tourists. These tickets
are in booklet form, inside the covers being an eighteen-inch pink paper
ticket. At the top is a space for the excursionist's name, and further
down a series of spaces where the excursionist is to write the names of
the various stations at which the train is to stop. The name of the
station is suggested by a preceding statement. This ticket, including
"rules and regulations," as well as correct insertions for the
stations, reads as follows:
THE FUNVILLE, FROLICTOWN & FEATHERBRAIN RAILWAY.
_Excursion Ticket_
_Issued to_ ...............................................
_Tuesday_, ---- ----
_Good for One Trip Only._
Rules and Regulations.
This Ticket is not transferable, reversible, or salable. It must be
signed by the person to whom it is assigned.
The conductor will not punch this ticket. Punch is prohibited on this
railroad.
If you cannot crack these nuts call on the brakeman.
Do not pull the bell rope; this is not a Pullman car.
The Company will not be responsible for cattle killed by the
carelessness of the passengers who throw crackers out of the window.
Doctors are not provided on this train, but if you have the grip it can
be checked by the baggage master.
The porter is the car-pet and he has to have his tax.
_The First Station at Which this Train Stops is:_
That for which our forefathers fought.
INDEPENDENCE.
_The Second is:_
A female habiliment.
GALVESTON.
_The Third is:_
A military defense and a Paris dressmaker.
FORT WORTH.
_The Fourth is:_
An ancient city whose downfall, after a long siege, avenged the
abduction of a woman.
TROY.
_The Fifth is:_
An accident which generally gives one a ducking.
BATH.
_The Sixth is:_
An opera encore.
SING SING.
_The Seventh is:_
A city whose end and aim is "go."
CHICAGO.
_The Eighth is:_
Begins with an exclamation, appeals to maternity, ends with a laugh.
OMAHA.
_The Ninth is:_
A board of city fathers, in connection with a precipice.
COUNCIL BLUFFS.
_The Tenth is:_
Where the seat of affection is easily waded.
HARTFORD.
_The Eleventh is:_
One of the Apostles.
ST. PAUL.
_The Twelfth is:_
A woman's Monday occupation and two thousand pounds.
WASHINGTON.
_The Thirteenth is:_
An infernal region, a girl's name.
HELENA.
_The Fourteenth is:_
What a young man called when his sweetheart Anna was drowning.
SAVANNAH.
_The Fifteenth is:_
An afflicted stream.
CRIPPLE CREEK.
_The Sixteenth is:_
A small geological formation.
ROCK ISLAND.
_The Seventeenth is:_
What most old maids desire to find.
MANITOU.
_The Eighteenth is:_
A pleasing beverage and a period.
WYANDOTTE.
_The Nineteenth is:_
Outward sign of spiritual grace and exclamation.
SACRAMENTO.
_The Twentieth is:_
A young miss and a slang term of coin.
GALLATIN.
_The Twenty-First is:_
The father of Democracy and a large town.
JEFFERSON CITY.
_The Twenty-Second is:_
An extinct King of the Prairies.
BUFFALO.
_The Twenty-Third is:_
A girl's name, a laugh and a tumble.
MINNEHAHA FALLS.
_The Twenty-Fourth is:_
That upon which we rely.
PROVIDENCE.
_The Twenty-Fifth is:_
A bandmaster's staff and a society girl's cheeks.
BATON ROUGE.
Appropriate prizes--leather traveling bags--are awarded to excursionists
who have done the most sight seeing--that is, who have guessed the names
of most of the stations. In the mean time small boys in uniform pass
through the "parlor cars" dispensing to the passengers such train
delectables as popcorn and peanuts, while other uniformed youths pass
lemonade in the time-honored tin receptacle with glasses in openings at
the side.
Suddenly the station supper gong is sounded and the brisk announcement
made, "Twenty minutes for refreshments." Thereupon the lively
excursionists proceed in sections to the dining room where the novel
feature of the railroad party is cleverly carried out. Along one end of
the room is constructed a high lunch counter with every equipment of the
metropolitan station. There is the steaming coffee urn, the familiar
glass covers under which repose pumpkin pie and doughnuts, old-fashioned
cake-stands with fruit, and so on. Bright colored placards on the wall
announce the eatables, including chicken and ham sandwiches, stuffed
eggs, hokey-pokey ice cream, assorted cakes, coffee, chocolate and milk.
The floral decorations in this "buffet car" are effective. The white
cloth that covers the counter and extends to the floor is festooned with
strings of smilax and spotted with sprays of fern. On top of the counter
is a huge bowl of scarlet roses, and two immense palms behind the lunch
counter make a pleasing background. In all the coaches, in fact, flowers
and foliage are used in profusion.
LITERARY SUPPER.
Give each guest a card numbered, and ask him to draw thereon a picture
which shall illustrate some well-known novel. When all have finished
have them pass the cards and on a second numbered list write the titles
of the books illustrated. Give a prize for the most perfect list and the
best illustration. Let the guests vote on the best illustration.
Or, pin on the back of a guest the name of a character in a book, or the
name of an author, and let him by questions discover his own identity.
If he fails to guess and has to be told, he sits down. If he guesses
correctly, another name is pinned on his back, and another, and so on.
The one guessing the greatest number of names receives the prize, which
may be simply a bunch of flowers.
Ask each guest to wear something representing the title of a book. Give
each a number as he enters and a list of numbers and let all place
correct names opposite the numbers on their lists. Write a simple love
story, leaving blanks to be filled with names of books. This may be
written on a large sheet of paper or on a blackboard, the blanks
numbered and each guest given a numbered list to place words intended to
fill blanks, or enough copies may be made for each guest to have a copy.
Partners for supper may be found by cutting quotations in half and
matching them again. Or one guest may be given the name of a book to
find his partner in the author; or he may receive a slip containing the
name of some man character in fiction, to find his partner in the
corresponding woman character, as "David Copperfield" would seek "Dora,"
"Mr. Micawber" would seek "Mrs. Micawber," etc.
Serve pressed chicken or veal cut in squares resting on cress;
sandwiches of white grapes and nuts, chopped pickle; fruit salad served
in white lettuce leaves, cheese crackers, ice cream or ices, cake,
coffee or chocolate. Make the cheese crackers by spreading a thin layer
of cheese on the crackers and toasting them in the oven.
A PEANUT PARTY.
Write invitations on cards cut out and painted to represent peanuts.
Have them read, "Won't you come next Tuesday night at 7 o'clock and help
me gather my peanut crop? Cordially yours,"
When the guests assemble the night of the party, give each one a gay
calico bag and a large wooden spoon. Then explain that they are to hunt
for the peanuts on the lower floor of the house, and that the peanuts
can only be taken up with the aid of the spoons. Half an hour is allowed
to gather the peanut crop, and then the bags are marked with the
gatherer's name and dropped into a large straw basket--the bag
containing the largest number of peanuts receives a prize. This hunt
causes much merriment.
When the time has expired and the bags are all in the basket, a large
bowl of peanuts is put on a table and each guest given a needle and
thread and told to make a necklace and pair of bracelets,--the best made
set of peanut jewelry to be awarded a prize. The next feature of the
evening's fun is making and dressing quaint little Chinese figures of
peanuts. Crepe paper of various hues is provided for the costumes, and
black thread for the queues. First the peanuts are strung to form the
little manikins, then eyes, nose and mouth are marked on with ink.
Jackets and trousers are next cut and made, and the little Ching-Changs
are dressed. Pigtails are plaited and sewed on to the tops of the heads,
then the hats go on and the little celestials are ready to be inspected
by the judges. These dolls the guests keep as souvenirs of their skill.
In the dining room have a small evergreen tree planted in a china
jardiniere in the center of the supper table with little peanut owls
perched on the branches of the tree. These owls have wings of light
manila paper and are marked with ink to represent feathers. Big, staring
eyes add a touch of realism. The owls are attached to the branches,
singly and in groups, with glue.
For supper serve creamed chicken patties, tiny hot rolls, brandied
peaches or sweet watermelon pickle; salad of cucumbers and mayonnaise
served on lettuce leaves or cress, peanut butter, and chopped smoked
tongue sandwiches, ice cream served in sherbet glasses, assorted cakes,
coffee or chocolate.
FOLK LORE SUPPER.
Engage real colored singers to give a program of songs of the Southland,
the old-time plantation melodies. Arrange the stage with a log cabin
surrounded by sunflowers in the background and a cotton field in
foreground, and have the singers costumed as field hands. Some of the
best known and best liked songs include "Old Black Joe," "Swing Low,
Sweet Chariot," "Nobody Knows the Trouble I Am Seeing," "Nellie Gray,"
"Suawanee River," "Way Over Jordan," "Ride up in the Chariot," "Massa's
in the Cold, Cold Ground," "Dixie." Serve a fried chicken supper with
rice, hot biscuits, syrup, cornpone, ice cream and cake and coffee. The
program can end with buck and wing dancing, jigs and cakewalks.
CAKE WALK SUPPER.
At this cake walk there is no walking for the cake. The cakes themselves
walk for prizes.
Ask each guest to dress representing a certain variety of cake, but
concealing the name of the particular cake represented.
Give a prize to the person who discovers the largest number of names.
One girl representing Wedding Cake can come with bridal veil, orange
blossom wreath and shower bouquet.
Fruit Cake may be suggested by a girl carrying a graceful basket of
fruit which she distributes to the company. In her hair she may wear a
crown of artificial grapes and grape leaves.
A woman of very diminutive size who might be thought to be almost
ineligible for the gathering because she came without insignia of any
kind might represent short cake.
And these are but a few of the ingenuities. The entire list is too long
to give here, but each repetition is sure to call forth new ideas.
The winner of the first prize receives a pretty china cake dish, while
the second prize is a dainty cake knife in silver. There is a booby,
too--a small cook book giving twenty-five choice recipes for cakes.
The guessing of the cakes is followed by an informal supper. Serve
_Chicken Mousse with Lettuce and Nut Salad_
_Brown Bread and Butter Sandwiches_
_Olives, Salted Almonds_
_Peach Bavarian Cream, Fancy Cakes_
_Coffee_
MENU AND SERVICE FOR BRIDGE SUPPER PARTY.
If one wishes a dainty and appetizing menu for a card supper serve
sweetbread and celery salad, stuffed olives and tiny pickles, assorted
sandwiches and plain vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce, fruit
cake, white cake and coffee.
While the judges are counting the points for game, have the maid lay a
lunch cloth on each table. Serve the sweetbread salad either in
cucumbers hollowed out or in red or green pepper shells, resting on a
wreath of watercress. A pretty effect is secured by using alternate
green and red peppers and leaving the tops with the stem for covers. Tie
the tiniest of red peppers to the stems with narrow green ribbon for
decoration. The sweetbread salad is made of cold cooked sweetbreads and
celery cut into dice and covered with mayonnaise. If one adds a few
sliced almond meats and mushrooms the flavor is improved. Serve ham
sandwiches cut in shape of playing cards and decorated with bits of
pickled beets to simulate card spots, heart shaped sandwiches of
chopped green peppers and mayonnaise, cucumbers and watercress mixed
with mayonnaise, plain bread and butter sandwiches, using brown and
white bread. If one wishes a hot course, serve oyster or cream chicken
patties and tiny hot rolls. The fork is brought on the plate with the
salad or hot course.
Serve ice cream in the sherbet glasses with stems. Place a lace paper
doily on the plate, stand the glass on this and lay a pink rose on the
plate. Pass the hot chocolate sauce in a silver or pretty china pitcher,
or have it poured over the ice cream before it is brought in. Pass the
coffee in after dinner coffee cups, the maid bringing in a tray full of
the cups followed by an assistant with sugar, cream and after dinner
coffee spoons.
Cut the cake into squares and pass in silver basket or handsome plate
with doily.
"AFTER THE THEATRE" MENUS.
_Cold Chicken in Cranberry Jelly Cups_
_Celery and Oyster Patties_
_Bread and Butter Sandwiches_
_Lemon Jelly with Whipped Cream_
_Ice Cream, Lady Fingers, Cocoanut_
_Macaroons_
_Bonbons, Coffee_
_Mushroom Patties_
_Turkey and Celery Salad in Lettuce Cups_
_Cheese and Nut Sandwiches_
_Pineapple Jelly with Whipped Cream_
_Vanilla Ice Cream_
_Small Sponge Cakes_
_Coffee with Whipped Cream_
OYSTER CRABS ON STEAK.
Since dealers do not sell oyster crabs at reasonable rates where they
know their value or have a fashionable trade, if economical, one has to
find a modest oyster house where they do not bring a cent and more
apiece, but are for sale in bulk. A few dozen at least are needed for
the steak. Oyster crabs are tiny things and they shrink in cooking.
The pan must be hot with plenty of butter in it Throw in the crabs whole
of course, for they are wee things, clean as an oyster, and let them
cook to a turn. Salt and pepper them and turn them over the steak which
has been broiled exactly right. The oyster crabs must be cooked so as to
be ready when the steak is done.
A COLD SUPPER MENU FOR HOT WEATHER.
_Iced Consomme_
_Celery, Salted Wafers_
_Lobster en Mayonnaise, Brown Bread Sandwiches_
_Cold Filet of Beef_
_Saratoga Potatoes, Jelly, Brandied Cherries_
_Tomatoes Stuffed with Celery, Green Peppers and Cucumbers_
_Chicken Salad_
_Roquefort Cheese, Toasted Crackers_
_Ice Cream in Canteloupes_
_Fruits, Crystallized Candies_
CHAPTER VI.
TOASTS AND STORIES FOR SUPPERS.
Here's to man, God's first thought,
Here's to woman, God's second thought;
As second thoughts are best, "Here's to woman."
--_Detroit Free Press_.
* * * * *
A health to the man on trail this night; may his grub hold
out; may his dogs keep their legs; may his matches never
miss fire.
* * * * *
TO "ONE OF THE BOYS."
Here's to a jolly fellow,
Who is one of the boys,
And stays till he gets mellow,
Sharing the drinks and joys.
His glass he'll fill to the rim,
And dash it out of sight,
We can all tie to him,
You bet, "he's all right!"
* * * * *
Here's to you, as good as you are,
And here's to me, as bad as I am;
But as good as you are, and as bad as I am,
I'm as good as you are as bad as I am!
--_An Old Scotch Toast_
* * * * *
Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen
Here's to the widow of fifty;
Here's to the flaunting, extravagant queen,
And here's to the housewife that's thrifty!
Let the toast pass;
Drink to the lass;
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
--_Sheridan._
* * * * *
"The women, God bless them, we toast them alway,
Lest the women, God bless them, roast us every day."
* * * * *
While there's life on the lip, while there's warmth in the wine,
One deep health I'll pledge, and that health shall be thine.
_Lucille--Owen Meredith._
* * * * *
Crown high the goblets with a cheerful draught;
Enjoy the present hour; adjourn the future thought.
--_Dryden's Virgil._
* * * * *
Here's to Love, a thing so divine,
Description makes it but the less;
'Tis what we feel but cannot define,
'Tis what we know but cannot express.
* * * * *
"To the Salad of Life.
"With its laughter and tears, its blessings and joys,
Its mixture of peace and of strife.
And may it be seasoned to each man's taste,
With plenty of love for its dressing,
And when we have eaten the last on the dish,
Let us hope it has proven a blessing."
* * * * *
"Clink, clink your glasses and drink!
Why should we trouble borrow?
Care not for sorrow,
A fig for the morrow!
Tonight let's be merry and drink!"
* * * * *
Here's to the prettiest,
Here's to the wittiest,
Here's to the truest of all who are true.
Here's to the neatest one,
Here's to the sweetest one,
Here's to them all in one--here's to you.
* * * * *
"Laugh at all things,
Great and small things,
Sick or well, at sea or shore;
While we're quaffing,
Let's have laughing--
Who the devil cares for more."
--_Lord Byron._
* * * * *
A toast to your hair, my loved one,
A toast to your beautiful hair!
It rests like a crown
Of unmatchable brown
On your brow so pure and fair.
There's a charm in its lightness,
An air in its brightness,
That tangled my heart in its snare.
Then pledge me, my fair one,
My loved one, my rare one,
A toast to your beautiful hair!
--_Bayard Bacon._
* * * * *
Woman. The fairest work of the great Author. The edition is
large and no man can afford to be without a copy.
* * * * *
He is the half part of a blessed man,
Left to be finished by such as she.
--_Shakespeare._
* * * * *
To Friendship--it improves happiness and abates misery, by
the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our
grief.--_Cicero._
* * * * *
Ho gentlemen! lift your glasses up--
Each gallant, each swain and lover--
A kiss to the beads that brim in the cup
A laugh for the foam spilt over!
For the soul is a-lift and the heart beats high,
And care has unloosened its tether;
"Now drink," said the sage, "for tomorrow we die!"
So let's have a toast together.
* * * * *
Swing the goblet aloft; to the lips let it fall;
Then bend you the knee to address her;
And to drink gentle sirs, to the queen of us all--
To the Woman that's Good--God bless her!--
And I pledge my last toast, ere I go to my rest--
O fortunate earth to possess her!--
To the dear tender heart in the little white breast
Of the Woman that's Good--God bless her!
* * * * *
Here's to the girl that's good and sweet
Here's to the girl that's true,
Here's to the girl that rules my heart--
In other words, Here's to you.
* * * * *
Here's to the land of the shamrock so green,
Here's to each lad and his darling coleen
Here's to the ones we love dearest and most
And may God save old Ireland,--that's an Irishman's toast.
* * * * *
A toast to Thanksgiving,
A Pæan of Praise,
A health to our forefathers brave;
May we honor the deeds
They have done in the past,
Hold sacred all that they gave.
--_Estelle Foreman._
* * * * *
AN ENGLISHMAN'S FRANK TOAST.
In cosmopolitan Los Angeles there are five gentlemen companions, each
representing a different nationality, who from frequent association have
become intimate friends. One is a Russian, one a Turk, one a Frenchman,
one an American and one an Englishman. These five frequently assemble
together and tell of the comparative merits of the respective countries
they represented and thus their companionship is a source of instruction
as well as entertainment. Recently they gave a champagne supper to which
a few friends were invited. During the course of this dinner it was
proposed that each of the five give a toast to his native country, the
one giving the best toast to be at no expense for the feast. The result
was these toasts:
The Russian--"Here's to the stars and bars of Russia, that were never
pulled down."
The Turk--"Here's to the moons of Turkey whose wings were never
clipped."
The Frenchman--"Here's to the cock of France, whose feathers were never
picked."
The American--"Here's to the Stars and Stripes of America, never trailed
in defeat."
The Englishman--"Here's to the rampin' roarin' lion of Great Britain,
that tore down the stars and bars of Russia, clipped the wings of
Turkey, picked the feathers off the cock of France, and ran like h--l
from the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America."
The Englishman was at no expense for the feast.
* * * * *
"Why, Patrick, you seem to be in great pain--you have taken something
that disagrees with you." "Yes, doctor, I swallowed a potato bug be
accident, and although I took some Paris green a minute after it don't
quiet the disgraceful little baste. He's racing up and down and all
round inside of me."
* * * * *
"If you would refuse occasionally when those hateful men ask you to
drink," said Mrs. Booce, "you would not be coming home in this
condition. You lack firmness of character."
"Don't you b'leeve nossin' of the sort," said Mr. Booce, with much
dignity. "The fellers tried to start me home more'n two hours ago."
* * * * *
Guest--"Am I the unlucky thirteener?"
Host--"No, you're the lucky fourteener. You're to fill up the gap."
Guest--"All right; I've brought it with me."
* * * * *
"Suppose you come and dine with us tomorrow?"
"Wouldn't the day after do just as well?" inquired the poor relation.
"Certainly; but where are you going to dine tomorrow?"
"Oh, here. You see, your wife was kind enough to ask me for that
occasion."
* * * * *
At a dinner given in a home that was marked for the literary
acquirements of its members the conversation naturally turned to books
and their authors. This was not much to the liking of one young woman,
who was more noted for her skill at golf and kindred sports than for her
knowledge of romance and history. From time to time she attempted to
start a discussion of outdoor games, but to no avail. At last her
companion at the table turned to her with the inquiry:
"And do you not like Kipling?"
The fair young thing knitted her brows in thought for a moment, then
answered blithely:
"Kipling? I don't believe it has been introduced in our set yet. How do
you kipple, anyway?"
* * * * *
Book Agent--"Is the lady of the house in?"
Cook--"We're _all_ ladies here, yez moonkey-faced divil! If yez mane the
_mishtress_, say so!"
* * * * *
A Sunday-school teacher recently told her class about the cruelty of
docking horses, says Our Dumb Animals. "Can any little girl tell me,"
she said, "of an appropriate verse of Scripture referring to such
treatment?" A small girl rose and said solemnly, "What God hath joined
together, let no man put asunder."
* * * * *
I am reminded of a sick man who had a talking wife. A doctor was sent
for to prescribe for the husband. When he left he said to the wife:
"Your husband is not dangerously ill. All he needs is rest, so I have
prescribed this opiate."
"How often shall I give it to him?" she asked.
"Oh, don't give it to him at all. Take it yourself."
* * * * *
Scene: The bar parlour of the Prince George, Brighton. Pipes and beer
all round. An old salt saying:--
"I've got a riddle to ask you chaps. If a 'erring and a 'alf cost three
farthings 'ow many could you buy for sixpence?"
Profound silence, and much puffing of pipes. Presently a voice from the
corner:--
"I say, Bill, did you say 'errings?"
"Yes, I said 'errings."
"Drat it, I've been a-reckoning of mackerel all this 'ere time!"
* * * * *
"An' phwat are yez a-doin' wid that pig in the sea?"
"Shure, an' I'm a makin' salt pork av him afore I kill him."
* * * * *
A story is told of a man who, having submitted himself to the
manipulation of a venerable barber was told: "Do you know, sah, you
remind me so much of Dan'l Webster?"
"Indeed," he said, "shape of my head, I suppose?"
This staggered the aged colored man somewhat. He had not expected that
there would be a call for an explanatory superstructure. "No, sah," he
stammered in reply; "not yo' head, sah, it's yo' breff."
* * * * *
"Speaking of mushrooms and toadstools, gentlemen," chimed in Dumley, "a
friend of mine not long ago gathered a quantity of what he supposed were
mushrooms, and took 'em home. His wife cooked 'em and the whole family
ate heartily of 'em."
"And did they all die?" inquired the crowd, very much shocked.
"No, they happened to be mushrooms, you see," replied Dumley with a
far-a-away look in his eye, "but it was a narrow escape."
* * * * *
He was enjoying an ear of corn in the good, old-fashioned way. "You look
as if you were playing the flute," his hostess remarked, smiling. "Oh,
no," was the amiable retort; "It's a cornet I'm playing, by ear."
* * * * *
London Landlady (to shivering lodger).--No, sir, I don't object to your
dining at a restorong, nor to taking an 'apenny paper, but I must resent
your constant 'abit of locking up your whiskey, thereby himplying that
me, a clergyman's daughter, is prone to larceny.
* * * * *
"Pat," said his young wife, "I wish you wouldn't put your knife in your
mouth when you eat." "An' phwere would yez hev me put it," said Pat, in
astonishment, "in me eyes?"
* * * * *
First Lady--"What birthday presents are you going to give to your
husband?"
Second Lady--"A hundred cigars."
First Lady--"And what did you pay for them?"
Second Lady--"Oh, nothing! For the last few months I have taken one or
two out of his box every day. He hasn't noticed it, and will be pleased
with my little present and the fine quality of the cigars."
* * * * *
Arabella (scared)--"Oh, mammy! Miss Smiff say her ole man gits fits
eb'ry time he come home drunk an' I's 'fraid I done cotch 'um."
Mammy--"G'wan, chile; fits ain' ketchin'."
Arabella--"Dey mus' be, kase Miss Smiff says she give 'em to him
herse'f."
* * * * *
Mistress (greatly scandalized)--"Is it possible, Hannah, you are making
bread without having washed your hands?"
New Kitchen Girl--"Lor', what's the difference, mum? It's brown bread."
* * * * *
Family Physician--"I'm afraid you have been eating too much cake and
candy. Let me see your tongue."
Little Girl--"Oh, you can look at it, but it won't tell."
* * * * *
"Patrick, you told me you needed the alcohol to clean the mirrors with,
and here I find you drinking it."
"Faix, mum, it's drinkin' it and brathin' on the glass oi'm a-doin'."
* * * * *
A clergyman was being shaved by a barber who had evidently become
unnerved by the previous night's dissipation. Finally he cut the
clergyman's chin. The latter looked up at the artist reproachfully and
said, "You see, my man, what comes of hard drinking." "Yes, sir,"
replied the barber, consolingly, "it makes the skin tender."
* * * * *
They began by making much of his office, and the great qualities
necessary to properly fill it. They laid stress upon the decay of the
standard of fitness, and congratulated themselves that they had at last
met with an instance where the man did honor to the office.
The mayor stood it for some time, and then in the blandest manner
remarked:
"You make me more worthy, gentlemen, than I really am. I am not a
genius, nor yet am I a sot or a simpleton, but rather, if you will
permit such self measurement, something between the two."
* * * * *
First Quick Lunch Waitress--"Say, but that dude is gone on Molly!"
Second Quick Lunch Waitress (enviously)--"Ain't he? When he orders
'beans and draw one and sinkers' from her he puts such love in it that
it sounds like 'Paddy defoy grass, coffee o'lay and Parker House
rolls.'"
* * * * *
"Will you have a piece of the pie, Mr. Goodman?" asked Bobby's mother of
the minister.
"Thanks, no," he replied.
"Will you, Bobby," she inquired.
"No, I think not," said Bobby, rather hesitating.
The minister looked at Bobby in surprise.
"I thought all little boys were fond of pie," he said.
"They are," replied Bobby. "I could eat that hull pie, but ma said if
you didn't take any I mustn't, and she'd save it for tomorrow."
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